Duneside view of ESA's technical heart

A drone-snapped image of ESA’s technical heart, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC. Nestled beside coastal dunes in Noordwijk in the Netherlands, ESTEC is ESA’s largest establishment and hub of Europe’s space efforts. 

Beside the entrance stands the establishment's restaurant and tower complex built by renowned Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck. Beyond it is the main building, housing ESA laboratories and mission teams, distinguished by a 200-m long main corridor, leading to the rearward Test Centre for evaluating satellites and flight hardware.

Across the car park to the right is the three-block T-building, home to ESA’s Galileo team, with the Erasmus centre for human spaceflight behind it.