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Press Releases — 2012

Published by the ESA Newsroom and Media Relations

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

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Press Release N° 41–2012
Agency

Start-of-the-year press breakfast with ESA Director General

On Thursday, 24 January, ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain will meet the press at the traditional start-of-year gathering, providing an overview of ESA’s achievements in 2012 and the challenges ahead in 2013.
21/12/2012 394 views
Open
Press Release N° 40–2012
Science & Exploration

From la Pampa to the Universe: ESA completes deep-space network

ESA’s new tracking station in Malargüe, Argentina, will be inaugurated later today ready to enter service early next year. The massive antenna will capture precious scientific data from missions voyaging hundreds of millions of kilometres into our Solar System.
18/12/2012 583 views
Open
Press Release N° 39–2012
Applications

EDRS space network ready to go ahead

The design of Europe's data relay satellite system - EDRS - has been completed and approved. This marks the moment when it moves ahead with a green light from its first customer, the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security initiative from the European Union (GMES).
23/11/2012 387 views
Open
Press Release N° 38–2012
Applications

Meteosat Third Generation agreement signed at Ministerial meeting

The European Space Agency and EUMETSAT today signed the agreement on the Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite system at the ESA Ministerial Council in Naples, Italy. 
21/11/2012 499 views
Open
Press Release N° 37–2012
Agency

European Ministers decide to invest in space to boost Europe’s competitiveness and growth

UPDATE 23 NOV: ESA has just concluded a successful two-day Council meeting at ministerial level in Naples, Italy. Ministers from ESA’s 20 member states and Canada today allocated €10 billion for ESA’s space activities and programmes for the years to come. 
21/11/2012 1957 views
Open
Press Release N° 36–2012
Agency

Call for Media: ESA Council meeting at ministerial level moves to Naples

ESA and the Italian space agency have jointly decided to move the venue of the upcoming Council at Ministerial level, initially scheduled to take place in Caserta on 20-21 November, to the close city of Naples.
24/10/2012 365 views
Open
Press Release N° 35–2012
Science & Exploration

ESA Science Programme’s new small satellite will study super-Earths

Studying planets around other stars will be the focus of the new Small-class Science Programme mission, Cheops, ESA announced today.Its launch is expected in 2017. 
19/10/2012 345 views
Open
Press Release N° 34–2012
Agency

Call for Media: ESA Council meeting at ministerial level

The objectives and priorities for Europe in space will be discussed at the Council at Ministerial Level in Caserta, Italy on 20–21 November. 
15/10/2012 362 views
Open
Press Release N° 33–2012
Applications

Deployment of Europe’s Galileo constellation continues

The third and fourth satellites of Europe’s Galileo global navigation satellite system were lofted into orbit on 12 October from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. They join the first pair of satellites launched a year ago to complete the validation phase of the Galileo programme. 
12/10/2012 475 views
Open
Press Release N° 32–2012
Agency

Mission accomplished for ATV Edoardo Amaldi

ESA's third Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo ferry, Edoardo Amaldi, completed the final part of its highly successful six-month servicing mission to the International Space Station by reentering the atmosphere today and burning up as planned over an uninhabited area of the southern Pacific ocean. 
03/10/2012 575 views
Open
Press Release N° 31–2012
Applications

Metop-B delivers first data from polar orbit

Four of the instruments on the Metop-B weather satellite (AMSU-A, ASCAT, MHS, GRAS) have been activated this week and are delivering data. 
28/09/2012 356 views
Open
Press Release N° 30–2012
Applications

ESA hands over control of the Metop-B weather satellite to EUMETSAT

Darmstadt/Paris, 21 September 2012 - Yesterday, at 18:30 local time EUMETSAT took control of Metop-B operations, following the three-day Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) conducted by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) of the European Space Agency (ESA). The handover follows the launch of Metop-B on 17 September.
21/09/2012 626 views
Open
Press Release N° 29–2012
Applications

Call for Media: new data on global sea level changes

A unique 18-year run of satellite readings showing global sea level changes in unprecedented detail will be unveiled next week. Media representatives are invited to Italy’s lagoon city of Venice on 24 September to find out more. 
19/09/2012 402 views
Open
Press Release N° 28–2012
Applications

Europe’s second polar-orbiting weather satellite is aloft

The second Metop satellite was launched today from the Baikonur cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, atop a Russian Soyuz launcher. 
17/09/2012 558 views
Open
Press Release N° 27–2012
Agency

Poland accedes to ESA Convention

Poland took a step further in its relations with ESA by exchanging Accession Agreements on the ESA Convention on 13 September 2012, to become the 20th ESA Member State. 
13/09/2012 485 views
Open
Press Release N° 26–2012
Applications

ESA and European Investment Bank launch Space for Mediterranean Countries Initiative

ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and EIB Vice President Philippe de Fontaine Vive Curtaz today signed the Space for Mediterranean Countries Initiative agreement. The two organisations will work together towards satellite-based services bridging the digital divide and aiming at bringing economic growth to the Mediterranean region. 
10/09/2012 428 views
Open
Press Release N° 25–2012
Applications

MSG-3, Europe’s latest weather satellite, delivers first image

Today, the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) instrument on MSG-3 captured its first image of the Earth. This demonstrates that Europe’s latest geostationary weather satellite, launched on 5 July, is performing well and is on its way to taking over operational service after six months of commissioning. 
07/08/2012 455 views
Open
Press Release N° 24–2012
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: Mars Express supports NASA’s Curiosity landing

Media representatives are invited to ESA’s operations centre in Germany on Monday, 6 August, to follow ESA's Mars Express supporting the entry, descent and landing of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory. 
27/07/2012 359 views
Open
Press Release N° 23–2012
Applications

Call for Media: see what is at stake at world’s largest Earth observation conference

Media representatives are invited to a briefing before the opening of the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium in Munich, Germany. The briefing hosted by ESA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) will begin on Monday 23 July at 09:45. 
17/07/2012 365 views
Open
Press Release N° 22–2012
Applications

ESA hands over MSG-3 weather satellite to EUMETSAT

Today at 14:00 local time, following the successful launch of the satellite on 5 July aboard an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, and after 11 days of LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) by ESA’s Centre, ESOC, EUMETSAT took control of the MSG-3 operations. 
16/07/2012 639 views
Open
Press Release N° 21–2012
Applications

MSG-3 set to ensure quality of Europe’s weather service from geostationary orbit

The latest weather satellite in Europe’s highly successful Meteosat second-generation series is on its way after lifting off on an Ariane 5 at 21:36 GMT (23:36 CEST) on Thursday, 5 July from Europe’s Spaceport at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. 
05/07/2012 341 views
Open
Press Release N° 20–2012
Science & Exploration

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti set for Space Station in 2014

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been assigned to be launched on a Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in 2014 for a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station. 
03/07/2012 508 views
Open
Press Release N° 19–2012
Science & Exploration

ESA astronaut André Kuipers returns to Earth

ESA astronaut André Kuipers, together with his Russian Commander Oleg Kononenko and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, has landed safely on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 08:14 GMT (10:14 CEST) in Soyuz TMA-03M. 
01/07/2012 310 views
Open
Press Release N° 18–2012
Applications

New launch date confirmed for Metop-B

The revised launch date for the Metop-B satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome has been set for 19 September 2012. 
28/06/2012 406 views
Open
Press Release N° 17–2012
Agency

Call for Media: ESA at Farnborough international airshow

ESA will be highlighting the key roles that space plays today in our rapidly changing world when the Space Zone - the very popular feature of the Farnborough international airshow opens its doors 9-15 July.
22/06/2012 410 views
Open
Press Release N° 16–2012
Applications

Launch date of MSG-3 reset to 5 July 2012

Arianespace has announced that the launch date of the MSG-3 satellite from the European Spaceport in Kourou, originally foreseen for 19 June, has been reset to the evening of the 5 July 2012. The delay is due to additional checks that were made on the EchoStar 17 telecommunication satellite, which is to be launched together with MSG-3 on the Ariane 5 ECA launcher. 
12/06/2012 338 views
Open
Press Release N° 15–2012
Applications

ESA declares end of mission for Envisat

Just weeks after celebrating its tenth year in orbit, communication with the Envisat satellite was suddenly lost on 8 April. Following rigorous attempts to re-establish contact and the investigation of failure scenarios, the end of the mission is being declared.
09/05/2012 417 views
Open
Press Release N° 14–2012
Agency

Call for Media: Europe's SpaceLab finalists link up with space and meet astronauts

Europe's finalists in the Space Lab challenge will join astronauts, scientists and Google managers at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne on 16 May to discuss their experiment ideas and call ESA astronaut André Kuipers on the International Space Station.
09/05/2012 396 views
Open
Press Release N° 13–2012
Science & Exploration

JUICE is Europe’s next large science mission

Jupiter’s icy moons are the focus of Europe’s next large science mission, ESA announced today. 
02/05/2012 476 views
Open
Press Release N° 12–2012
Agency

Metop-B launch postponed

EUMETSAT and the European Space Agency (ESA) have been informed by the launch service provider, Starsem, that the launch of the Metop-B satellite by a Soyuz rocket, scheduled for 23 May from Baikonur, had to be postponed. This is due to additional measures required to ensure the availability of safe drop zones for parts of the launcher after liftoff. 
27/04/2012 591 views
Open
Press Release N° 11–2012
Agency

Call for Media: International Space Station symposium in Berlin

Top scientists and heads of the five International Space Station partner space agencies will meet in Berlin on 2–4 May to present results from more than ten years of scientific activities on the orbital outpost and to elaborate on future research perspectives. 
20/04/2012 318 views
Open
Press Release N° 10–2012
Science & Exploration

Europe’s third cargo vehicle docks with the Space Station

ESA’s ATV Edoardo Amaldi has completed the first stage of its docking with the Russian Zvezda module of the International Space Station. 
28/03/2012 418 views
Open
Press Release N° 9–2012
Science & Exploration

Europe’s smart supply ship on its way to Space Station

ESA’s ATV Edoardo Amaldi lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, today at 04:34 GMT (05:34 CET, 01:34 local) on an Ariane 5 launcher, operated by Arianespace, heading towards the International Space Station. 
23/03/2012 305 views
Open
Press Release N° 8–2012
Applications

Call for Media: invitation to witness Galileo pass its space test

Media representatives are invited to attend an event marking the completion of the in-orbit testing of the first two Galileo satellites on 29 March at ESA’s Redu Centre in Belgium. 
18/03/2012 405 views
Open
Press Release N° 7–2012
Science & Exploration

ATV launch delayed

A routine inspection has concluded that additional measures are required to ensure the maximum readiness of the third Automated Transfer Vehicle for launch. It has therefore been decided to postpone the launch previously scheduled for 9 March. 
02/03/2012 526 views
Open
Press Release N° 6–2012
Agency

International Space Station Heads of Agencies Joint Statement

The heads of the International Space Station (ISS) agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States met in Quebec City, Canada, on March 1, 2012, to review the scientific,technological, and social benefits being produced through their collaboration, and to discuss plans for further broadening these benefits by continuing to advance the human exploration of space. 
01/03/2012 328 views
Open
Press Release N° 5–2012
Science & Exploration

ATV-3 set to provide ESA's annual service to Space Station

ESA's third Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo ferry, Edoardo Amaldi, is ready for launch on an Ariane 5 to the International Space Station on 9 March from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
29/02/2012 310 views
Open
Press Release N° 4–2012
Science & Exploration

Fifth ATV named after Georges Lemaître

ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATVs) are an essential contribution by Europe to running the International Space Station. Naming the fifth after Belgian scientist Georges Lemaître continues the tradition of drawing on great European visionaries to reflect Europe's deep roots in science, technology and culture.
16/02/2012 521 views
Open
Press Release N° 3–2012
Enabling & Support

ESA's new Vega launcher scores success on maiden flight

Vega, ESA's new launch vehicle, is ready to operate alongside the Ariane 5 and Soyuz launchers after a successful qualification flight this morning from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
13/02/2012 351 views
Open
Press Release N° 2–2012
Enabling & Support

Vega set for its inaugural flight

On 13 February, the European Space Agency will perform the first qualification flight of its brand new Vega launch vehicle.
02/02/2012 401 views
Open
Press Release N° 1–2012
Agency

Overview of ESA activities in 2012 of interest to media

UPDATE: 03 SeptemberExpected key events of the year (follow the ESA website at www.esa.int for the final dates) : 
09/01/2012 404 views
Open

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