The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. 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.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
In outline is highlighted an example of the SCOC3 ‘spacecraft controller on a chip’ etched onto the silicon wafer. As its name suggests, it is capable of operating an entire spacecraft. The SCOC3 has been developed by ESA and Astrium, and itself combines more than 20 different IP cores from other sources. The SCOC3 is already flying in orbit, an integral part of missions including France’s Spot-6 Earth observation satellite launched in September 2012.