ESA

Becoming ESA
 

The idea of creating an independent European Space organization occurred in 1960s, when ELDO “European Launcher Development Organization” was established.  ELDO was a space based agreement between six European countries: Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with the association of Australia. This cooperation was aiming at building a launcher called “Europa” showing a satellite mosaic image of a cloud-free European space. Only few years later, in 1962 the same ELDO countries, following the successful results obtained with the launcher “Europa”, and in association with Denmark, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland; decided to undertake satellite technologies scientific researches. This new knowledge-based association was identified as ESRO “European Space Research Organization”. The numerous successes gained by those organizations contributed to put forward this topic on a political level, until the European Space Agency “ESA” was set up during the ESA Convention in 1975. ESA has been identified as a merger between ELDO and ESRO aiming at exploiting the space application systems such as satellites and telecommunication technologies.

Today ESA is an international organization accounting 18 Member States. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
 

To substantiate this aim, ESA´s highlighted four major actions to be pursued by the member states taking part in this cooperation.

  • Elaborating and implementing a long-term European space policy, by recommending space objectives to the Member States, and by concerting the policies of the Member States with respect to other national and international organizations and institutions
  • Elaborating and implementing activities and programs in the space field
  • Coordinating the European space program and national programs, and by integrating the latter progressively and as completely as possible into the European space program, in particular as regards the development of applications satellites
  • Elaborating and implementing the industrial policy appropriate to its program and by recommending a coherent industrial policy to the Member States.

 

ESA location
 

ESA's headquarters are in Paris which is where policies and programs are decided. Moreover ESA has also sites in other European countries, each of which shares different responsibilities:

  • EAC, the European Astronauts Centre in Cologne, Germany
  • ESAC, the European Space Astronomy Centre, in Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, Spain;
  • ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany;
  • ESRIN, the ESA center for Earth Observation, in Frascati, near Rome, Italy;
  • ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, the Netherlands;
  • Space Center, French Guayana

A new ESA center has opened in the United Kingdom, at Harwell, Oxfordshire. ESA also has liaison offices in Belgium, USA and Russia, and a launch base in French Guiana and ground/tracking stations in various parts of the world.

 

ESA activities and funding system
 

ESA’s activities fall into two categories – ‘mandatory’ and ‘optional’. The ‘mandatory’ activities include the fundamental agency´s actions such as: studies on future projects, technology research, shared technical investments, information systems and training programs. The other programs, known as ‘optional’, are only of interest to some Member States, who are free to decide on their level of involvement.

 

All the 18 ESA Member States contribute to the programs on the basis of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

ESA budget by program for 2011,  © ESA

 

ESA launche vehicle fleet

ESA has made great progress towards its goal of having a complete fleet of launch vehicles in service, competing in all sectors of the launch market. ESA's fleet will soon consist of three major rocket designs, Ariane 5, Soyuz-2 and Vega. Rocket launches are carried out by Arianespace, which has 23 shareholders representing the industry that manufactures the Ariane 5 as well as CNES, at the spaceport in French Guiana.

 

Business with ESA

 

Careers at ESA

 

ESA Homepage: www.eas.int

 

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