ESA title

Press Releases — 2016

Published by the ESA Newsroom and Media Relations

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

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Press Release N° 52–2016
Agency

Call for Media: briefing on SmallGEO

A special briefing on SmallGEO, Europe’s versatile small telecom satellite platform, will be held on 18 January, after Director General Jan Woerner’s annual meeting of the press at ESA HQ, Paris.
13/12/2016 459 views
Open
Press Release N° 51–2016
Agency

Call for Media: ESA Director General’s overview of ESA activities

On Wednesday, 18 January, ESA Director General Jan Woerner will meet the media for the traditional press breakfast to provide an overview of ESA’s achievements in 2016 and the opportunities ahead in 2017. The briefing will take place at ESA headquarters.
14/12/2016 1040 views
Open
Press Release N° 50–2016
Agency

European ministers ready ESA for a United Space in Europe in the era of Space 4.0

ESA today concluded a two-day Council meeting at ministerial level in Lucerne, Switzerland. Ministers in charge for space  matters from ESA’s 22 member states plus Slovenia and Canada allocated €10.3 billion for space activities and programmes based on the vision of a United Space in Europe in the era of Space 4.0.
02/12/2016 2089 views
Open
Press Release N° 49–2016
Agency

Citizens’ space debate: the main findings and the future

On 10 September,about 2000 Europeans helped to shape the future of space by taking part in a world first: the Citizens’ Debate on Space for Europe. 
25/11/2016 778 views
Open
Press Release N° 48–2016
Applications

Start of service for Europe’s SpaceDataHighway

The European Data Relay System began servicing Europe’s Earth observing Copernicus programme yesterday, transferring observations in quasi-real time using cutting-edge laser technology.
23/11/2016 846 views
Open
Press Release N° 47–2016
Agency

Venture capital available for space-based companies

The Seraphim Space Fund of venture capital, currently worth £50 million, is set to boost European small, medium and start-up companies developing space-based applications, services and technologies.
22/11/2016 1471 views
Open
Press Release N° 46–2016
Space Safety

Call for Media: Talk to Thomas Pesquet on the Space Station

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet entered the International Space Station together with crewmates Oleg Novitsky and Peggy Whitson in the early hours of today to begin his six-month mission on the orbital complex.On Wednesday, 23 November, Thomas will call the European Astronaut Centre from the Space Station for a live video conference with media at 13:00–15:00 GMT (14:00–16:00 CET).
20/11/2016 1524 views
Open
Press Release N° 45–2016
Science & Exploration

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet arrives at the International Space Station

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and Roscosmos commander Oleg Novitsky docked with the International Space Station today after a two-day flight in their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft.
18/11/2016 300 views
Open
Press Release N° 44–2016
Applications

Launch of new Galileo navigation quartet

An Ariane 5 rocket has launched four additional Galileo satellites, accelerating deployment of the new satellite navigation system.
17/11/2016 790 views
Open
Press Release N° 43–2016
Agency

Call for Media: ESA Council meeting at ministerial level, Lucerne, Switzerland, 1–2 December 2016

ESA’s Ministerial Council will be held in Lucerne, Switzerland on 1–2 December. Ministers in charge of space activities from the 22 ESA Member States and Canada will meet to decide on future space activities for Europe.
16/11/2016 643 views
Open
Press Release N° 42–2016
Agency

Media backgrounder: ESA’s Ministerial 2016 in Lucerne

The Ministers in charge of space within the 22 ESA Member States and Canada gather typically every three years to set the Agency’s strategy and policies. During these ESA Council meetings at Ministerial Level, decisions are taken on the main direction for the coming years and on the additional budget for the future. Ministers agree to start new programmes or eventually to bring them to an end. This time, the ‘space ministers’ will meet on 1–2 December in Lucerne, Switzerland.
14/11/2016 1794 views
Open
Press Release N° 41–2016
Applications

Call for Media: Launch of Galileo satellites 15–18

Two flagship European space programmes will combine on 17 November, as Galileo navigation satellites are carried into orbit by an Ariane 5 rocket for the first time.
10/11/2016 1005 views
Open
Press Release N° 40–2016
Applications

Call for Media: Last look at second ‘colour vision’ satellite

ESA and the European Commission together with Airbus Defence and Space are inviting media to view the Sentinel-2B satellite at ESA’s site in the Netherlands on 15 November.
09/11/2016 1053 views
Open
Press Release N° 39–2016
Agency

Ariane 6 on track, contracts towards full development to be signed tomorrow

After a programmatic review finalised in September and following the positive outcome of today’s meeting of the Industrial Policy Committee, ESA is now in a position to confirm the full development of Ariane 6 and Vega C.
08/11/2016 815 views
Open
Press Release N° 38–2016
Space Safety

Call for Media: Press events for ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s flight to the International Space Station

On 17 November ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will become the 10th French astronaut to be launched into space, alongside Roscosmos commander Oleg Novitsky and NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.
08/11/2016 737 views
Open
Press Release N° 37–2016
Agency

Call for Media: Press briefing on Ministerial Council (CM16)

ESA’s Director General Jan Woerner will meet the press on Monday,  7 November, to provide an overview of the upcoming Council at ministerial level.
21/10/2016 2102 views
Open
Press Release N° 36–2016
Agency

Schiaparelli descent data: decoding underway

Essential data from the ExoMars Schiaparelli lander sent to its mothership Trace Gas Orbiter during the module’s descent to the Red Planet’s surface yesterday has been downlinked to Earth and is currently being analysed by experts.
20/10/2016 3773 views
Open
Press Release N° 35–2016
Agency

ExoMars TGO reaches Mars orbit while EDM situation under assessment

The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) of ESA’s ExoMars 2016 has successfully performed the long 139-minute burn required to be captured by Mars and entered an elliptical orbit around the Red Planet, while contact has not yet been confirmed with the mission’s test lander from the surface.
19/10/2016 4094 views
Open
Press Release N° 34–2016
Space Safety

Call for Media: ExoMars arrives at the Red Planet

The ExoMars 2016 mission will enter orbit around the Red Planet on 19 October. At the same time, its Schiaparelli lander will descend to the surface. Representatives of traditional and social media are invited to attend a two-day event at ESA’s ESOC control centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
07/10/2016 2423 views
Open
Press Release N° 33–2016
Science & Exploration

Mission complete: Rosetta’s journey ends in daring descent to comet

ESA’s historic Rosetta mission has concluded as planned, with the controlled impact onto the comet it had been investigating for more than two years.
30/09/2016 2771 views
Open
Press Release N° 32–2016
Enabling & Support

Call for Media: Inviting the public into ESA’s technical heart

16/09/2016 713 views
Open
Press Release N° 31–2016
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: Rosetta’s grand finale

Rosetta is set to complete its mission in a controlled descent to the surface of its comet on 30 September.
09/09/2016 1171 views
Open
Press Release N° 30–2016
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: two-day space conference in London

Spaceflight is one of the most inspiring endeavours of humankind. Join ESA and experts from many disciplines as we look at how human spaceflight has changed our daily lives, what the future holds, and the inspiring research and work done across many disciplines and industries.
05/09/2016 555 views
Open
Press Release N° 29–2016
Science & Exploration

Call for media: First data release from ESA's Gaia mission

Media representatives are invited to a briefing on the first data release of ESA’s Gaia mission, an astrometry mission to map the stars of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
01/09/2016 986 views
Open
Press Release N° 28–2016
Agency

Call for Media: Thomas Pesquet calls in from Houston

During a break in his training schedule, French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will be available at a press conference in Paris for remote media interviews on Tuesday, 30 August.
24/08/2016 812 views
Open
Press Release N° 27–2016
Agency

10 September 2016: Citizens’ debate on Space for Europe in all ESA Member States

On 10 September 2016 about 2000 citizens from 22 European countries will participate in the first Citizens’ Debate on Space for Europe. In the course of the day, citizens will have the opportunity to learn, debate, have their say and participate by suggesting priorities on all aspects of current and future space programmes.
01/07/2016 3557 views
Open
Press Release N° 26–2016
Agency

Call for Media: ESA at Farnborough International Airshow

ESA will be present at the Farnborough International Airshow on 11–17 July in the Space Zone in Hall 3.
30/06/2016 524 views
Open
Press Release N° 25–2016
Agency

Tim Peake returns to Earth

ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko landed safely today in the Kazakh steppe after a three-hour ride in their Soyuz spacecraft. They left the International Space Station at 05:52 GMT at the end of their six-month stay on the research complex.
17/06/2016 804 views
Open
Press Release N° 24–2016
Agency

Call for Media: First press conference with ESA astronaut Tim Peake after return to Earth

Media are invited to the European Astronaut Centre on 21 June for ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s first public appearance. The one-hour event includes Tim’s first-hand report and covers the science experiments he ran in space.
17/06/2016 2818 views
Open
Press Release N° 23–2016
Agency

New ESA Director of Earth Observation

At a restricted meeting of the ESA Council held in Paris today Mr Josef Aschbacher was appointed as ESA Director of Earth Observation. 
14/06/2016 876 views
Open
Press Release N° 22–2016
Agency

LISA Pathfinder exceeds expectations

ESA’s LISA Pathfinder mission has demonstrated the technology needed to build a space-based gravitational wave observatory.  
07/06/2016 981 views
Open
Press Release N° 21–2016
Agency

Europe’s SpaceDataHighway relays first Sentinel-1 images via laser

ESA today unveiled the first Sentinel-1 satellite images sent via the European Data Relay System’s world-leading laser technology in high orbit.
01/06/2016 861 views
Open
Press Release N° 20–2016
Agency

ESA at the European Space Solutions conference

ESA will be present during the European Space Solutions conference on 30 May – 3 June in The Hague, the Netherlands.
25/05/2016 1408 views
Open
Press Release N° 19–2016
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: First results from ESA’s LISA Pathfinder mission

Media representatives are invited to a briefing on the first results from ESA’s LISA Pathfinder mission, a technology demonstrator for the observation of gravitational waves from space.
24/05/2016 2380 views
Open
Press Release N° 18–2016
Applications

And yet it moves: 14 Galileo satellites now in orbit

Named for the astronomer who pinpointed Earth’s true position in the Solar System, the Galileo satellite navigation system that will help Europe find its way in the 21st century now has 14 satellites in orbit after today’s double launch.
24/05/2016 577 views
Open
Press Release N° 17–2016
Agency

Call for Media: ESA at the Berlin Air and Space Show

ESA will be exhibiting in the ‘Space for Earth’ space pavilion at ILA, the Berlin Air and Space Show on 1–4 June.Media are invited to join a press conference by ESA’s Director General Jan Woerner.
24/05/2016 659 views
Open
Press Release N° 16–2016
Science & Exploration

Alexander Gerst to be Space Station commander

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst has been assigned a new mission to the International Space Station, where he will fulfil the role of commander during the second part of his six-month mission in 2018.
17/05/2016 393 views
Open
Press Release N° 15–2016
Agency

Call for Media: Briefing on launch of Galileo satellites 13/14

The latest satellites in Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system will be launched together on 24 May. Media are invited to take part in an audio briefing on 23 May.
18/05/2016 671 views
Open
Press Release N° 14–2016
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: Couture in Orbit at London’s Science Museum

ESA and London’s Science Museum are working with students from leading fashion schools in Paris, London, Milan, Copenhagen and Berlin to create pieces that bring science and couture together using the latest technologies and materials.
17/05/2016 555 views
Open
Press Release N° 13–2016
Agency

Call for Media: Integration of Orion’s European Service Module

Contracted by ESA, Airbus Defence and Space is building the European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Integration of the module’s flight model for Orion’s first deep-space  mission has begun at the company’s Bremen site, Germany, where media representatives are invited to attend a press briefing on 19 May.
11/05/2016 972 views
Open
Press Release N° 12–2016
Agency

Call for Media: Don’t miss the largest ever Earth observation conference

Media representatives are invited to the Living Planet Symposium for the latest results from Europe’s satellites and achievements of ambitious Earth observation initiatives.
04/05/2016 1114 views
Open
Press Release N° 11–2016
Science & Exploration

Second ExoMars mission moves to next launch opportunity in 2020

On 14 March 2016, the Roscosmos State Corporation and the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the jointly-developed ExoMars 2016 interplanetary mission, comprising the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Schiaparelli lander, on a Proton rocket from Baikonur, thus marking the first phase in the European-Russian ExoMars cooperation programme. The success achieved by Russian and European experts involved in ExoMars 2016 is the result of long and fruitful cooperation. The ExoMars 2016 spacecraft are due to arrive at Mars in October 2016.
02/05/2016 5923 views
Open
Press Release N° 10–2016
Applications

Sentinel-1B launched to complete radar pair

The second Sentinel-1 satellite – Sentinel-1B – was launched today to provide more ‘radar vision’ for Europe’s environmental Copernicus programme.
25/04/2016 568 views
Open
Press Release N° 9–2016
Applications

Call for Media: Launch of second satellite in ‘radar vision’ mission

The second satellite of the Sentinel-1 mission – Sentinel-1B – is set for launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 22 April at 21:02 GMT (23:02 CEST). Media representatives are invited to follow the launch online or attend the main launch event at ESA’s ESRIN centre for Earth observation in Frascati, Italy.
14/04/2016 1561 views
Open
Press Release N° 8–2016
Enabling & Support

New ESA Director of Launchers appointed

At a meeting of the ESA Council held in Paris in restricted session on 16 March 2016, the appointment of Mr Daniel Neuenschwander as ESA Director of Launchers was announced. 
17/03/2016 2240 views
Open
Press Release N° 7–2016
Space Safety

ExoMars on its way to solve the Red Planet’s mysteries

The first of two joint ESA–Roscosmos missions to Mars has begun a seven-month journey to the Red Planet, where it will address unsolved mysteries of the planet’s atmosphere that could indicate present-day geological – or even biological – activity.
14/03/2016 1018 views
Open
Press Release N° 6–2016
Space Safety

Call for Media: The next flight to Mars is departing soon

The ExoMars 2016 mission is planned for launch at 09:31 GMT (10:31 CET) on 14 March from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Representatives of traditional and social media are invited to apply for accreditation to attend a day-long event at ESA’s control centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
29/02/2016 1585 views
Open
Press Release N° 5–2016
Applications

Third Sentinel satellite launched for Copernicus

The third ESA-developed satellite carrying four Earth-observing instruments was launched today, ready to provide a ‘bigger picture’ for Europe’s Copernicus environment programme.
16/02/2016 765 views
Open
Press Release N° 4–2016
Applications

Call for Press: Sentinel-3 for the future

Media representatives are invited to the Salons Hoche event venue in Paris for the signing of a contract between ESA and Thales Alenia Space to build two more satellites for the Sentinel-3 mission.
02/02/2016 1540 views
Open
Press Release N° 3–2016
Applications

Call for Media: Launch of Sentinel-3 satellite for Copernicus

The third satellite of Europe’s Copernicus programme is set for launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on 16 February at 17:57 GMT (18:57 CET). Media representatives are invited to follow the launch at the main event at ESA’s operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
01/02/2016 2160 views
Open
Press Release N° 2–2016
Applications

First SpaceDataHighway laser relay in orbit

The European Data Relay System’s first laser terminal has reached space aboard its host satellite and is now under way to its final operating position.
29/01/2016 621 views
Open
Press Release N° 1–2016
Applications

Call for Media: First SpaceDataHighway laser node set for launch

The first node of the European Data Relay System will be launched on 29 January from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
25/01/2016 523 views
Open

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