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European Space Agency (ESA)

FR
gov civilFounded 1975
Paris
www.esa.int/sme
Admin Edit

Verified facts grounded in source documentation.

Jean Jacques Dordain, former ESA Director General (2003–2015), became the first honorary member of EURO2MOON.

NARRATIVE GENERAL10/26/2021Airbus, Air Liquide and ispace Europe launch EURO2MOON, a non-profit European platform to explore future uses of natural lunar resources

In 2020, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and European partners including ESA launched the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite to collect the most accurate data on global sea level.

NARRATIVE GENERAL7/14/2021NASA, ESA enter into partnership to address climate change

ESA Agenda 2025 frames upcoming retirements as both a loss of expertise and an opportunity to recruit people with knowledge in other domains and to improve diversity and gender balance in the agency’s workforce.

NARRATIVE FINANCIAL4/8/2021New ESA director general outlines priorities

The European Space Agency’s most recent recruitment campaign prior to 2021-2022 took place between 2008 and 2009.

NARRATIVE GENERAL2/16/2021‘Parastronaut’ sought as ESA recruits its first new astronauts in more than a decade

Rocket Factory Augsburg AG is the first company to sign the second contract in ESA’s Commercial Space Transportation Services and Support program.

NARRATIVE GENERAL2/12/2021Rocket Factory Augsburg AG Signs Their Second Boost! Contract With ESA

The European Space Agency plans to launch a space-debris-collection mission in 2025.

NARRATIVE GROWTH1/4/2021Japan to launch the first wood-based satellite by 2023 to reduce space debris

Airbus and Thales Alenia Space won contracts valued at more than $1,000,000,000 with ESA and the UK in the summer prior to The Space Report 2020 Q3.

ORG RELATIONSHIP10/14/2020Global commercial space revenue reaches $336.89 billion

Copernicus is the largest provider of Earth observation data worldwide, with the European Commission leading the programme and ESA responsible for developing, building and launching the dedicated satellites.

NARRATIVE GENERAL7/6/2020Thales Alenia Space wins lion’s share of newly awarded Copernicus contracts

Germany committed to spending 3,300,000,000 EUR on future space programs during the previous fall, making Germany ESA’s single biggest contributor.

NARRATIVE GENERAL7/1/2020ESA selects prime contractors for six new Copernicus missions

Rolf Densing, director of operations at ESA, prioritizes the health of the workforce and ESA will reduce activity on some scientific missions, especially interplanetary spacecraft that require the highest number of personnel on site.

NARRATIVE GENERAL3/25/2020ESA puts four science missions on hold during pandemic

ESA selected Arianespace to launch the JUpiter ICy moon Explorer (JUICE) aboard the Ariane 64, the inaugural flight of the Ariane 6.

NARRATIVE GENERAL1/7/2020ESA selects Arianespace for Euclid dark universe probe launch

Jan Woerner expects that ESA member states will provide most, if not all, of the funding the agency is seeking at a ministerial meeting in November.

NARRATIVE GENERAL10/23/2019Woerner optimistic about ESA’s upcoming ministerial meeting

Both Astroscale and ClearSpace won contracts to participate in the Sunrise Project, a public-private partnership led by OneWeb and the European Space Agency to explore advanced technologies including active debris removal.

ORG RELATIONSHIP10/10/2019Astroscale, ClearSpace aim to make a bundle removing debris

ispace announced a new contract on 2019-05-22 under the Luxembourg National Space Programme LuxIMPULSE implemented by the European Space Agency.

ORG RELATIONSHIP5/22/2019ispace to Develop Commercial Lander Services for European Space Agency’s Lunar Resource Mission

Canada intends to expand its relationship with the European Space Agency and renew the cooperation agreement between Canada and ESA until 2030.

NARRATIVE GROWTH3/7/2019Canada’s long-awaited space strategy emphasizes AI, EO and deep-space robotics

The European Space Agency operates seven Sentinel satellites in orbit delivering terabytes of data every day, making Copernicus the largest provider of Earth observation data in the world.

NARRATIVE GENERAL1/23/2019Copernicus budget gets budget boost from European Commission

The European Space Agency plans to launch an Earth observation satellite nicknamed BrainSat equipped with Intel’s Myriad visual data processor.

NARRATIVE GROWTH11/13/2018ESA preps Earth observation satellite with onboard AI processor

Thales Alenia Space received a 324,000,000 EUR contract from the European Space Agency on 2018-10-18 to develop new ground segment and security systems for the Galileo satellite navigation system.

NARRATIVE PLAN10/22/2018Thales Group reports boost in space revenue

An Airbus-led consortium including Planet won a contract in July to provide high-resolution imagery of Europe for the European Commission and the European Space Agency’s Copernicus program.

ORG RELATIONSHIP10/19/2018Airbus leveraging partnerships, investments to deliver greater ground truth

Goonhilly won a contract from the European Space Agency to upgrade the 32-meter dish at its facility to support the agency’s deep space missions.

ORG RELATIONSHIP5/16/2018Billionaire invests in British company planning deep space communications network
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