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!
More than 750 000 bits of dangerous debris are currently in orbit around Earth, each with the potential to cause damage to satellites in space. About 100 tonnes of this technological trash re-enters Earth’s atmosphere in an uncontrolled way every year, the vast majority of which safely burns up – but some pieces make it through our atmosphere and reach the surface.
For this reason, ESA is planning a new type of mission – a ‘servicing vehicle’ – that can be customised to perform a variety of roles in orbit. The vehicle could extend the life of satellites through refuelling and refurbishment, and most importantly it will have the ability to safely ‘de-orbit’ satellites at the end of their lives, preventing the future creation of space debris.
With the Space Servicing Vehicle, ESA hopes to spark off a valuable new business model for European industry that will go a long way toward mitigating new space debris and ensuring the long-term sustainability of spaceflight.