European Space Agency
The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organization of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,200
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Image: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spits fire as it lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, 23 April at 05:49 local time. On board are ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. The crew of four spent around 23 hours orbiting Earth and catching up with the International Space Station after their launch before docking to the Node-2 Harmony module, marking the start of ESA’s six-month mission Alpha. Thomas is the first European to be launched to space on a US spacecraft in over a decade. The new Crew Dragon ships four astronauts at a time, allowing more people…
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ESA, in cooperation with the Australian Space Agency, will construct a new 35-metre, deep space dish antenna at its existing ground station in New Norcia, Western Australia The 620-tonne antenna will help ESA provide crucial communication links to its growing fleet of deep space missions It will be ESA’s second 35-metre antenna at the site and its fourth in total The joint announcement was made during a virtual meeting held between the heads of ESA and the Australian Space Agency earlier this week View the full article
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Liftoff of Vega from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana came at 02:50 BST on 29 April (03:50 CEST; 22:50 local time on 28 April) to deliver Pléiades Neo-3 and five auxiliary payloads into their respective orbits. View the full article
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A precision magnetic valve originally designed to help steer a lander down to a comet has found a surprise terrestrial use through ESA’s Technology Transfer and Patent Office: adding flavours to beverages within a few thousandths of a second per each can or bottle. View the full article
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Once every two years, asteroid experts around the globe meet up and pretend an asteroid impact is imminent. Why? To prepare for the likely – but plausible – scenario in which this comes true. View the full article
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With challenges imposed by the Covid pandemic, engineers building and testing ESA’s Biomass satellite have had to come up with some clever working methods to keep on track whilst adhering to safety rules. The result is that the satellite structure is not only complete, but has also undergone a series of demanding tests to ensure it will withstand the rigours of liftoff – all bringing the launch of this extraordinary forest carbon mapping mission one step closer. View the full article
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Space is getting crowded. Old satellites, rocket bodies and fragments of both are leaving little space for new satellites to reside in that is free from debris. The risk of collision with debris and even functioning satellites is increasing, especially in low-Earth orbit, putting many of Earth’s climate, ocean and land monitoring missions in harm’s way. ESA is working alongside private business to clean up space by developing new missions and technologies that will remove debris from orbit. No space agency or business could solve the debris problem alone, but if it becomes technologically feasible – and profitable – to take care of our space environment, it will be much e…
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Image: Hot and cold space radio testing View the full article
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Computer simulations show that the miniature solar flares nicknamed ‘campfires’, discovered last year by ESA’s Solar Orbiter, are likely driven by a process that may contribute significantly to the heating of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona. If confirmed by further observations this adds a key piece to the puzzle of what heats the solar corona – one of the biggest mysteries in solar physics. View the full article
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ESA’s second Test-Bed Telescope has seen ‘first light’. It will help spot asteroids in space that could pose a risk to Earth. This telescope is the latest step towards ESA’s planned Flyeye telescope network. It is hosted at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. View the full article
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Video: 00:01:17 A timelapse from various angles of the launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon Endeavour leaving Earth from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The rocket lifted off at 10:49 BST (11:49 CEST, 05:49 local time) on 23 April 2021 from Launchpad 39A in Cape Canaveral with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. On 24 April at 11:08 CEST the Crew-2 caught up with the International Space Station and docked with its Harmony module, marking the start of Thomas’ Alpha mission. Thomas is the first ESA astronaut to fly in space in a vehicle …
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The Copernicus Masters 2021 competition is now open for submissions. This international competition awards prizes to innovative solutions, developments and ideas for business and society that use satellite data from the Copernicus programme. View the full article
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For almost a decade, world asteroid experts have been meeting every two years at the Planetary Defense Conference and pretending an asteroid impact is imminent. Why? To prepare for the unlikely – but plausible – scenario in which this comes true. View the full article
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Video: 00:02:21 Highlights of the launch and first day in space of ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on the Alpha mission. On 24 April at 11:08 (CEST) the Crew Dragon spacecraft with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide docked with the International Space Station’s Node-2 Harmony module, marking the start of ESA’s six-month mission Alpha. The crew spent around 23 hours orbiting Earth and catching up with the International Space Station after their launch on 23 April at 10:49 BST (11:49 CEST, 05:49 local time). The launch to docking went smoothly in Crew …
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Video: 00:04:17 ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher congratulates the Dragon Crew 2 shortly after they enter the Space Station. ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide arrived at the Station one day after their launch on 23 April at 10:49 BST (11:49 CEST, 05:49 local time). Thomas is the first ESA astronaut to fly in space in a vehicle other than the Russian Soyuz or the US Space Shuttle, and the first ESA astronaut to leave Earth from Florida, USA, in over a decade. This is his second flight, his first mission called Proxima saw Thomas fly to the Sp…
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Video: 00:02:28 In collaboration with ESA and the French space agency CNES, Cité de l'espace, in Toulouse, France, offers a unique way to allow everyone to access the heart of the Alpha mission. As in a real control room, visitors can access the latest information on the mission, updated day by day, and discover the testimonies of Team Alpha, the scientific and technical teams who help Thomas Pesquet with his activities. French: La mission Alpha à la Cité de l’espace En collaboration avec l’ESA (Agence Spatiale Européenne) et le CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), la Cité de l’espace, à Toulouse, propose un dispositif unique pour permettre à tous d’accéder …
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Today at 11:08 (CEST) the Crew Dragon spacecraft with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide docked with the International Space Station’s Node-2 Harmony module, marking the start of ESA’s six-month mission Alpha. View the full article
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Video: 02:33:30 The full replay of the ESA Web TV coverage of the liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide. The Crew-2 will spend around 24 hours travelling to the International Space Station. The rocket lifted off at 11:49 on 23 April 2021 from Launchpad 39A in Cape Canaveral at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. Thomas is the first ESA astronaut to fly in space in a vehicle other than the Russian Soyuz or the US Space Shuttle, and the first ESA astronaut to leave Earth from Florida, USA, in over a decade. This is hi…
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Week in images: 19 - 23 April 2021 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
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Alpha Mission launch Image gallery of the Mission Alpha View the full article
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Video: 00:04:13 Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide. The Crew-2 spend around 24 hours travelling to the International Space Station. The rocket lifted off at 11:49 on 23 April 2021 from Launchpad 39A in Cape Canaveral at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. Thomas is the first ESA astronaut to fly in space in a vehicle other than the Russian Soyuz or the US Space Shuttle, and the first ESA astronaut to leave Earth from Florida, USA, in over a decade. This is his second flight, his first mission called Proxima saw T…
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The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the sediment-stained waters in Laizhou Bay, located on the southern shores of the Bohai Sea, on the east coast of mainland China. View the full article
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André Kuipers is one of a handful of astronauts who has had to 'shelter-in-place' from a piece of marauding space debris. View the full article
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Video: 00:01:31 Our planet is surrounded by spacecraft helping us study our changing climate, save lives following disasters, deliver global communication and navigation services and help us answer important scientific questions. But these satellites are at risk. Accidental collisions between objects in space can produce huge clouds of fast-moving debris that can spread and damage additional satellites with cascading effect. In this animation, find out how teams at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, take action to keep satellites safe after receiving an alert warning of a possible collision between an active satellite and a piece of spac…
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Latest: NASA and SpaceX now are targeting 23 April at 10:49 BST (11:49 CEST) for the launch of the Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station due to unfavourable weather conditions along the flight path on Thursday. French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight. The mission, which is called Alpha, will see the first European to launch on a US spacecraft in over a decade. Thomas is flying on the Crew Dragon, alongside NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide. View the full article
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