N° 22–2021: Call for media: European Robotic Arm to be launched to the Space Station
29 June 2021
Media are invited to a press event on Monday, 5 July 2021, at ESA ESTEC in Noordwijk in anticipation of the launch of ESA’s European Robotic Arm. During this press event, representatives of the media will have the opportunity to meet the experts in the team, ESA astronaut André Kuipers, and Dutch Secretary of State responsible for space exploration Mona Keijzer, to talk about the technology used and the added value for astronauts. Spare parts of ERA will be shown and demonstrated.
The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is set for launch from the Russian launch base Baikonur on a Proton rocket to the International Space Station on 15 July at 19:18 CEST. The latest robot to service the Space Station has a length of over 11 m, and the ability to anchor itself to the Station in multiple locations, moving backwards and forwards with a large range of motion.
ERA is 100% made-in-Europe. A consortium of European companies led by Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands designed and assembled it for ESA.
Programme
Date: Monday, 5 July 2021
Time: 9:00 Doors open
10:00 Start event
11:30 End of event
Address: ESA ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, NL-2200 AG Noordwijk, Nederland
Participants
- Mona Keijzer, State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
- Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality, and Head of ESA ESTEC
- Harm van de Wetering, Director Netherlands Space Office
- Philippe Schoonejans, ESA ERA project manager
- Sytze Kampen, Head of Technology at Airbus Defence and Space in Nederland
- André Kuipers, ESA astronaut
The event will be moderated by Jasper Wamsteker, Head of Communication and Education at the Netherlands Space Office. The briefing will be in Dutch.
Media registration
Journalists are invited to register by 2 July 2021 via https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form/
Registered media will receive an email with details on how to join the event at ESA ESTEC in Noordwijk.
Contact
For further questions or interview requests, Media are invited to contact media@esa.int
Further information
ERA background page:
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/International_Space_Station/European_Robotic_Arm2
European Robotic Arm brochure
https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/science/ERA_brochure_EN.pdf
‘Het ruimtestation krijgt een heel zichtbare, Nederlandse bijdrage’ | Spaceoffice.nl
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Images
https://www.flickr.com/photos/europeanspaceagency/albums/72157719452289029
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images
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www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images
For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int.
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https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos
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https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions
For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int.
About the European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.
ESA has established formal cooperation with five Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int
For further information
ESA Newsroom and Media Relations Office – Ninja Menning
Email: media@esa.int
Tel: +31 71 565 6409