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!
The core element of ESA's contribution to the International Space Station is the Columbus Orbital Facility (COF) pressurised laboratory module. COF is a multi-disciplinary research laboratory for scientific and technology investigations in space. Overall length is 6.7 m; external diameter is 4.5 m. The estimated launch mass is 9500 kg, plus the mass of the initial scientific equipment and experiments. COF is expected to fly in 2002 to the Station aboard the US Space Shuttle.COF will remain attached for the whole 10 years of the Station's planned operational life. In order to accommodate the wide spectrum of possible research activities over such a long period, COF's interior can be easily reconfigured and adapted. This is made possible through the use of exchangeable standardised racks. New racks will be brought to COF by the Shuttle or Ariane 5 using ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). [Image Date: 01-06-97] [97.06.021-003]