European Space Agency

Four technology goals ESA favors for honing Europe’s competitive edge
Europe’s space industry won’t be able to keep its technological edge without government support, the European Space Agency concludes in a report released ahead of the Space19+ ministerial conference.

ESA ministerial preview: Building the pillars for Europe’s future in space
With ESA set to convene its triennial ministerial later this month, SpaceNews spoke with ESA Director General Jan Woerner about his hopes for Space19+

Space agency leaders discuss ever-expanding roles for AI
At the Space Tech Expo, space agency leaders said artificial intelligence will play key roles in many space programs of the future.

ESA Director General calls for aggressive action on space debris
Rather than waiting for international consensus on measures to mitigate the problem of space debris, space agencies and companies should take immediate action, said Jan Woerner, European Space Agency director general.

ESA turns to NASA to assist in crucial ExoMars parachute tests
ESA needs to succeed with two upcoming parachute tests or will see the ExoMars 2020 landing mission slip to 2022.

European Commission, fearing brain drain to US, takes sharper look at space investment strategy
Commissioners speaking this week at the Conference on European Space Policy in Brussels said the continued reservations of European investors about financing space startups is hampering Europe’s ability to keep pace with similar startup activity in the United States.

Urban planning for the Moon Village
The first thing to remember about Moon Village is that it’s not a village on the moon.

Satellite operators don’t know what to buy, but ESA is still helping European manufacturers get ready to sell
How does ESA decide what technology to invest in when few have confidence on what operators will want? Three experts overseeing ARTES, the European Space Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems division, explain.

ESA’s leader gets extra time for his vision of European space
European Space Agency Director General Jan Woerner spoke with SpaceNews about his extension, the agency’s activities, and its relationship with others, from the EU to NASA.

ESA’s Aeolus. A game-changer for forecasts?
The first wind data captured by the European Space Agency's Aeolus wind sensor show the sensor is working as designed, a huge relief for a program managers who struggled for more than a decade with the complex technology.

Ariane 6 is nearing completion, but Europe’s work is far from over
ESA is pushing European industry to continue innovating and finding efficiencies even after Vega C’s introduction in 2019 and Ariane 6’s debut in 2020.

Vega’s long-awaited (small) successes
Although the mostly Italian Vega rocket was added to the Arianespace family in 2012, it’s only recently achieved tangible success in wooing the smallest spacecraft operators.

Farnborough 2018: U.K. and Europe highlight economic benefits of space
The space market worldwide has averaged $269 billion over the past five years, growing more than 5 percent each year.

OHB System to sign PLATO construction contract in June
German satellite manufacturer OHB System expects to finalize a contract in June with the European Space Agency to build a spacecraft to search for exoplanets.

Croatian space industry players eye European, U.S. export prospects
Croatian industry players hope a cooperation agreement with the European Space Agency could pave the way for a closer cooperation with their European counterparts and generate foreign orders.