PARIS — The European Space Agency on Nov. 22 announced a reorganization that was proposed by its new director-general, Johann-Dietrich Woerner, who assumed his post in July, and approved by a special meeting of ESA’s ruling council Nov. 21.
The new management structure features some new faces — including former managers of the British and German national space agencies, the Arianespace launch-service provider and the European Commission — and at least two directorates whose areas of operations have been trimmed.
The structure groups together separate directorates into themes, while not reducing the overall number of directors at the 22-nation agency.
Here is the new organization, to take effect in January:
• Space Applications includes the directorate of telecommunications and applications, with Magali Vaissiere remaining as director; and the Galileo and Navigation Directorate, to be led by Paul Verhoef. Verhoef is a former Galileo coordinator at the European Commission, which owns the positioning, navigation and timing program.
• Science and Exploration includes the newly reorganized Science Directorate, which will continue to be run by Alvaro Gimenez Canete but without the robotic exploration that had been attached.
A new Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration Directorate will be formed under this grouping, with David Parker, former chief executive of the U.K. Space Agency, as its chief.
• Space Technology and Operations is a third area combining two directorates. Franco Ongaro remains Director of Technical and Quality Management.
The Directorate of Operations, formerly attached to the Human Spaceflight program, will now stand on its own and be led by Rolf Densing, formerly of the German Aerospace Center, DLR.
• ESA’s Administrative area includes a newly defined Internal Services, Site Management, Finance and Information Technology Directorate, led by Jean-Max Puech, formerly chief financial officer of Evry, France-based Arianespace.
It also includes the Directorate of Industry, Procurement and Legal Services, which will continue to be led by Eric Morel de Westgaver.
The new organization does not yet affect ESA’s Earth observation and Launcher directorates.
