ESA title

Press Releases — 1997

Published by the ESA Newsroom and Media Relations

email: media @ esa.int (Media inquiries only)

Index
Press Release N° 45–1997
Science & Exploration

International Space Station Nodes "Made in Europe"

The Director General of the European Space Agency, Mr Antonio Rodotà, and the President of the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Mr Sergio de Julio, have signed on 12 December in Rome an arrangement concerning the management, execution and funding of the Nodes 2 and 3 for the International Space Station in which Europe, together with the USA, Russia, Japan and Canada, is participating as one of the five International Partners.
12/12/1997 367 views
Open
Press Release N° 44–1997
Science & Exploration

ESA astronaut Pedro Duque assigned to his first Space Shuttle mission

ESA’s Director General, Antonio Rodotà, and Spain’s Minister of Industry and Energy, Josep Piqué, announced today that ESA astronaut Pedro Duque has been assigned to the Space Shuttle mission (STS-95) currently scheduled for October 1998. NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin confirmed the appointment during his recent talks with Mr Rodotà at ESA Headquarters in Paris.
21/11/1997 339 views
Open
Press Release N° 43–1997
Applications

Meteosat...20 years of weather observations from space

On Monday 24 November 1997, 20 years after the launch of Meteosat-1, there will be a gathering in Darmstadt, Germany, of many of the scientists, engineers and managers who took Meteosat from an idea, conceived through long European debates and development phases, eventually into operation.
18/11/1997 289 views
Open
Press Release N° 42–1997
Space Safety

ESA/Russia cooperation: another step forward

Another step forward in the close cooperation between the European Space Agency and Russia has been taken today with the signature in Moscow between Mr A.Rodotà, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), and Mr G.E.Marnedov, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, of an Agreement on customs clearance providing for certain exemptions from duties for goods exchanged between ESA and Russia in he context of their space cooperation.
18/11/1997 249 views
Open
Press Release N° 41–1997
Science & Exploration

ESA's gamma-ray astronomy mission's Russian launch confirmed

A formal Agreement between the European Space Agency and the Russian Space Agency confirms that a Russian Proton launcher will lift ESA's Integral satellite into space in 2001. In return, Russian astronomers will have about a quarter of the observing time on Integral, as it examines gamma-ray sources in the Universe.
18/11/1997 297 views
Open
Press Release N° 40–1997
Agency

Telemedicine: from Sarajevo to Tirana, hospitals with close links

The partners involved in the first European pilot project for telemedicine via satellite met on 17 November in the Celio Military Polyclinic in Rome, to take stock of the first results of the joint effort that, for over a year, has put hospitals in Italy and Bosnia in close contact with each other thanks to space applications.
18/11/1997 278 views
Open
Press Release N° 39–1997
Agency

ESA and NASA exchange views on their future cooperation

ESA Director General, Antonio Rodotà, and NASA Administrator, Daniel Goldin, met at ESA Headquarters in Paris on 11 November to take stock of their ongoing collaborative ventures and exchange views on the future of their Agencies and the role cooperation will play in that future.
12/11/1997 418 views
Open
Press Release N° 38–1997
Enabling & Support

TEAMSAT working well

Teamsat has been successfully launched on the second Ariane 5 qualification flight. ESA's operations centre (ESOC) has established communication and the first data show that the satellite is working well.
31/10/1997 500 views
Open
Press Release N° 37–1997
Enabling & Support

Ariane 5, a new success story begins

(Joint ESA-CNES press release) The European new-generation launcher Ariane 5 successfully lifted-off today 30 October 1997 from the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's Space Port, in Kourou, French Guiana at 10:43 a.m.; Kourou time (1:43 p.m. GMT, 2:43 p.m. CET) seven seconds after ignition of the Vulcain engine that powers the main stage.
30/10/1997 407 views
Open
Press Release N° 35–1997
Applications

MERCURE satellite network helps UNEP link the world for a better environment

Mr Antonio Rodotà, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), will formally hand over the Mercure satellite communications network on behalf of six of the ESA member countries to Ms Elisabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on 5 November 1997 in Geneva.
21/10/1997 551 views
Open
Press Release N° 34–1997
Enabling & Support

Ariane flight 502 practical details for the press in Europe

I - The main press centre in Europe, from which the press will be able to cover Ariane flight 502 operations, is at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget, near Paris (France). Access to the Press Centre is via the museum and a free car park is located in front of the entrance.
27/10/1997 271 views
Open
Press Release N° 32–1997
Science & Exploration

Successful Launch of Cassini-Huygens Mission

15/10/1997 338 views
Open
Press Release N° 31–1997
Space Safety

International space activities presented at the yearly space congress

Over 1 000 space experts, scientists, engineers and managers from around the world gather next week at the 48th International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Congress to present over 900 papers on the main theme "Developing business from space".
01/10/1997 257 views
Open
Press Release N° 30–1997
Enabling & Support

Ariane 502, final steps before launch

The verification process relating to analysis of the launcher's control loop (see ESA/CNES joint press release of 17 September) has taken longer than expected. Moreover, final qualification of the flight program software will require two additional weeks to complete. For these reasons, the launch campaign for the second Ariane-5 qualification flight at Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, is being put on hold from 26 September, aiming at a launch on 15 October 1997 at the earliest. The campaign will be resumed seven days before launch, with the filling of the upper stage.
16/07/1997 319 views
Open
Press Release N° 29–1997
Science & Exploration

New Cassini-Huygens launch date

The launch of NASA's Cassini spacecraft, with the European Space Agency's Huygens probe on-board has been rescheduled for Monday 13 October with a new launch window which opens at 4.55 a.m. and closes at 7.15 a.m. (E.D.T.) corresponding to 10.55-13.15 European Time.
16/07/1997 525 views
Open
Press Release N° 28–1997
Enabling & Support

ARIANE 502 - Launch preparations

Preparations for the second Ariane-5 qualification flight (A502) are going ahead simultaneously at the Ariane 5 launch complex (ELA-3) at the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana, and at the main industrial sites in Europe.
16/07/1997 308 views
Open
Press Release N° 27–1997
Science & Exploration

Cassini/Huygens anomoly detected

An anomaly involving the ground cooling to the Huygens probe was discovered 29 August 1997. At that time the Probe and the Cassini spacecraft were mounted on the Titan IV rocket on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Station, FL.
16/07/1997 397 views
Open
Press Release N° 26–1997
Applications

Astronomers discover fluoride mollecules in interstellar space

A team of astronomers from the United States and Germany has discovered trace amounts of hydrogen fluoride gas in the near vacuum of interstellar space, using the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory satellite, ISO, which was launched in November 1995.
16/07/1997 1404 views
Open
Press Release N° 25–1997
Agency

Technology Transfer and Mission to Mars at the International Space University

Technology Transfer and Strategies for the Exploration of Mars are the design projects assigned to the 96 students from 25 nations who are attending the International Space University (ISU) Summer Session this year.
10/07/1997 345 views
Open
Press Release N° 24–1997
Applications

Floods in Europe on the internet

The "Earth Watching Team" at the European Space Agency's ESRIN centre in Italy has put some significant satellite images on the Internet concerning the recent floods in northern Europe.
30/06/1997 294 views
Open
Press Release N° 23–1997
Science & Exploration

ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter now qualified to return Russian

On 24 July 1997, ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter will be awarded the Russian Soyuz Return Commander' certificate at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, in Star City near Moscow, Russia. He will become the first non-Russian astronaut to have earned this certificate which qualifies him to be the commander of a three-person Soyuz capsule during its return from space. 
26/06/1997 303 views
Open
Press Release N° 22–1997
Science & Exploration

Renewal of Mr Jörg Feustel-Büechl's contract

The contract of Mr Jörg Feustel-Büechl, Director of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity, has been renewed for a four year term running to October 2002 (see Press Release 21-97 of 1 July 1997).
24/06/1997 296 views
Open
Press Release N° 21–1997
Agency

New Director General takes over at ESA

Antonio Rodotà, an Italian, is today taking over as head of the 14-nation European Space Agency. Appointed for a period of four years, he will see ESA into the 21st century, succeeding the French Director General, Jean-Marie Luton, who has been in charge for almost seven years, since 1 October 1990.
15/06/1997 259 views
Open
Press Release N° 20–1997
Enabling & Support

Ariane 502 launch campaign starts

12/06/1997 341 views
Open
Press Release N° 19–1997
Agency

ESA and RSA launch "Partnership Charter"

ESA and RSA launch "Partnership Charter" to expand exchanges of expertise between Russian and West European aerospace professionals
18/06/1997 440 views
Open
Press Release N° 18–1997
Applications

Space applications in the Mediteranean region

Cooperation in Space technologies between Europe and the Mediterranean countries has made a significant step forward following a workshop on "Space applications in the Euro Med region" held in Cairo, Egypt, on 26 and 27 May, under the aegis of the European Space Agency, the European Commission and the Arab Institute of Navigation.
02/06/1997 315 views
Open
Press Release N° 17–1997
Science & Exploration

STS-84: ESA astronaut returns to Earth after successful Space Shuttle-to-Mir mission

09/07/1997 510 views
Open
Press Release N° 16–1997
Science & Exploration

STS-84: Atlantis launches Europe on new phase of space operations

The Space Shuttle Atlantis, carrying European Space Agency astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy, was launched early this morning on mission STS-84. Launch, from Pad 39a at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, came at the opening of a seven-minute launch window, at 04.07 EDT (10.07 Central European Time). It is headed on its sixth docking mission with the Russian space station Mir.
24/04/1997 486 views
Open
Press Release N° 15–1997
Science & Exploration

STS 84: Next Shuttle mission paves way for ESA and the International Space Station

The sixth docking mission of the US Space Shuttle to the Russian space station Mir is set to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, 15 May. Europe is playing a major part in the STS84 flight.
15/03/1997 319 views
Open
Press Release N° 14–1997
Science & Exploration

Hipparcos Venice 97 Symposium

Almost 300 renowned astronomers, astrophysicists and physicists from all over the world will gather in Venice on 13 16 May next at the Hipparcos Venice 97 Symposium, organized by the European Space Agency.
08/04/1997 360 views
Open
Press Release N° 13–1997
Applications

ESA and NASDA sign a Memorandum of Understanding on ARTEMIS

Today, Mr. Jean-Marie Luton, Director General of the European Space Agency, ESA, and Mr. Isao Uchida, President of the National Space Development Agency of Japan, NASDA, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the launch and utilisation of ESA's telecommunications satellite Artemis (Advanced Relay and Technology Mission Satellite).
26/03/1997 379 views
Open
Press Release N° 12–1997
Science & Exploration

Cluster will fly again!

26/03/1997 464 views
Open
Press Release N° 11–1997
Enabling & Support

Ariane 502 launch campaign

24/03/1997 384 views
Open
Press Release N° 10–1997
Agency

Mr Antonio Rodota to be Director General of ESA

Following the announcement by Mr Jean-Marie Luton, at the ESA Council meeting on 17 and 18 December (see press release no. 48-96), that he would not be seeking a third term of office, Council has today announced the appointment, for a period of four years, of his successor, Mr Antonio Rodota.
16/03/1997 389 views
Open
Press Release N° 9–1997
Applications

Third ERS Symposium 'Space at the Service of our Environment'

The European Space Agency will hold its Third ERS Symposium from 17 to 21 March 1997 in Florence, Italy, at which scientists and application experts, including ERS Principal Investigators will present their results on the use of data from the ESA Remote Sensing satellites ERS 1 and ERS 2. Around 600 delegates from more than 30 countries have already announced their participation in this meeting.
05/03/1997 464 views
Open
Press Release N° 8–1997
Science & Exploration

Huygens space probe ready to leave Europe

The European Space Agency's Huygens probe is ready to be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center. On arrival, it will undergo special tests and then be mated with the Cassini Saturn orbiter for launch in October 1997 on a Titan IVB/Centaur rocket.
03/03/1997 629 views
Open
Press Release N° 7–1997
Science & Exploration

ESA trades Space Station hardware for Shuttle launch of European laboratory

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed an agreement in principle on Wednesday, 5 March, under which ESA will provide additional hardware and services for the International Space Station (ISS) to NASA in exchange for the European laboratory module being launched on the US Space Shuttle.
26/02/1997 291 views
Open
Press Release N° 6–1997
Agency

ESA Council meeting at ministerial level Paris, 4 March 1997: Towards a new industrial policy

The Council of the European Space Agency met at ministerial level in Paris on 4 March 1997 under the chairmanship of Mr Yvan Ylieff, Belgian Minister for Science Policy.
02/02/1997 298 views
Open
Press Release N° 5–1997
Agency

Council Meeting at Ministerial Level on 4 March 1997

30/01/1997 266 views
Open
Press Release N° 4–1997
Agency

Second European Conference on Space Debris

The European Space Agency is hosting the Second European Conference on Space Debris from 17 to 19 March 1997 at its European Space Operations Centre (ESA/ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. The British, French, German and Italian space agencies (BNSC, CNES, DARA, ASI) and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) are co sponsoring this event, which will draw over 200 experts from all over the world.
29/01/1997 382 views
Open
Press Release N° 3–1997
Applications

European satellite telecommunications technologies to improve maritime safety

The European Space Agency has contributed to the development of a faster, more reliable and more accurate satellite distress system for ships at sea, in the framework of a project promoted by Inmarsat - the global mobile satellite operator.
23/01/1997 413 views
Open
Press Release N° 2–1997
Science & Exploration

Cassini/Huygens

Cassini/Huygens, a joint ESA/NASA mission, will be launched in October 1997.
01/02/1997 756 views
Open
Press Release N° 1–1997
Agency

1997: A busy year for European space

09/01/1997 431 views
Open

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