Press Releases — 2010

ESA's Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain will meet the press at ESA's headquarters in Paris on Friday 14 January 2011.

How would the world react to the threat of an asteroid impact? The media are invited to meet top-level experts at ESA’s space operations centre in Germany on 29 October to find out more. 

In 2000, the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” was set up on the initiative of ESA (European Space Agency) and CNES (France’s Centre national d’études spatiales). Its purpose is to make it easier for emergency services to access satellite data in the event of natural or man-made disasters. On Tuesday 19 October, ESA, CNES and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of this Charter, which has been joined by a further seven space agencies worldwide and activated on average more than twice a month since its creation. 

NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) on Friday agreed to update the International Space Station launch schedule. The target launch dates for the last planned space shuttle flight, STS-134 on Endeavour, will be Feb. 27 and the Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 (ATV-2) will be Feb. 15. 

The International Astronautical Congress will open in Prague on 27 September. Joining the world’s major space players, ESA will participate with experts in a rich and varied programme. 

ESA, together with the UK Space Agency, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and industry, will be exhibiting in a dedicated Space Zone at the Farnborough International Air Show, 19–25 July. 

The media are invited to ESA’s Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany to follow Rosetta’s encounter with asteroid Lutetia on 10 July, 18:00–23:00. The first images of the asteroid will be released before midnight, with experts available for interview.

The Council of the European Space Agency today announced that Jean-Jacques Dordain will continue as the Director General of ESA for a further period of four years. Mr Dordain has served as Director General of ESA since 2003. This third mandate extends his term to June 2015.

David Williams, Acting Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, will chair the ESA Council for the next year, effective from 1 July.

For the launch of the CryoSat-2 satellite, scheduled for Thursday 8 April at 15:57 CEST, representatives of the press are invited to watch the event live from ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. 

The heads of the International Space Station (ISS) agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States met in Tokyo, Japan, on 11 March 2010, to review ISS cooperation. With the assembly of the ISS nearing completion and the capability to support a full-time crew of six established, they noted the outstanding opportunities now offered by the ISS for on-orbit research and for discovery including the operation and management of the world’s largest international space complex. In particular, they noted the unprecedented opportunities that enhanced use of this unique facility provides to drive advanced science and technology. This research will deliver benefits to humanity on Earth while preparing the way for future exploration activities beyond low-Earth orbit. The ISS will also allow the partnership to experiment with more integrated international operations and research, paving the way for enhanced collaboration on future international missions. 

Press conferences, exhibitions, launches, political rendezvous and much more. The following list covers the main Communication activities that ESA will be involved in this year, but is not exhaustive. Please pencil in these events in your diary.