N° 19–2023: ESA Highlights: May to August 2023

The list below gives media representatives an overview of the most important events on the Agency’s agenda. Please note that the dates are subject to change. ESA will keep media informed about the precise dates closer to the actual events. 

Release of Meteosat Third Generation (MTG-I1) first image

Date: 4 May 2023

The first Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite, set to revolutionise short-term weather forecasting in Europe, successfully was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket at 21:30 CET on 13 December from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.  Its first image will reveal conditions over Europe, Africa and the Atlantic with a never-seen-before level of detail.

More information: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Meteorological_missions/meteosat_third_generation/A_new_era_of_weather_forecasting_begins

Ariane 6 milestone updates

Dates: May, June and July 2023

ESA and its partners will provide regular updates on Ariane 6’s progress towards its inaugural flight. A first update will be issued in early May 2023 with the next ones planned for early June and early July.

More information: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation 

2nd ESA Security Conference, Brussels, Belgium

Date: 16-17 May 2023

After a successful inaugural event in November 2021, ESA and the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) are organising the second ESA Security Conference. The conference will explore ways to make ESA activities and expertise more readily available to its stakeholders, while also reflecting on the Agency’s further contribution to both Europe’s welfare and international peace and security through its programmes, policies and partnerships.

More information: https://www.espi.or.at/2nd-esa-security-conference/ 

Huginn Mission event with Andreas Mogensen, Industriens Hus, Copenhagen, Denmark

Date: 22 May 2023

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen of Denmark is set to return to the International Space Station for his first long-duration mission to the Station. Andreas is scheduled to fly as the pilot on a SpaceX Crew Dragon as part of Crew-7 to the International Space Station in late summer of 2023. He previously spent 10 days in space on the Space Station on his first mission in 2015. An event in his home country will take place ahead of his new Huginn mission.

More information: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Andreas_Mogensen 

IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC 2023), Oslo, Norway

Date: 23-25 May 2023

GLOC 2023 will contribute to the global efforts to better understand and battle climate change using space-based services and applications. First conference of its kind, GLOC 2023 is designed to encourage the sharing of programmatic, technical and policy information, as well as collaborative solutions, challenges, lessons learnt, and paths forward among all nations. ESA will be present at the event to showcase its latest results, applications and solutions under the space for climate domain.

More information: https://www.iafastro.org/events/global-series-conferences/gloc-2023/ 

Ready for the Moon: conference on Revolution Space, Palais Ferstel, Vienna, Austria

Date: 2 June 2023 

This high-level political conference will focus on the findings of the "Revolution Space” report and the recommendations of the independent High-Level Advisory Group for Exploration (HLAG). The event will highlight the benefits of space exploration for society including peace and security, prosperity and wealth and environmental sustainability. Participation is expected to include national government, European decision-makers, ESA astronauts, the ESA Director General and authors of the independent Revolution Space report. A press briefing is foreseen. 

More information: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Independent_advisory_group_presents_report_on_European_space_revolution_to_ESA

https://palaisevents.at/en/contact/ 

Space2Connect Conference, Matera, Italy

Date: 7-9 June 2023

This edition of ESA Space2Connect Conference 2023 is aimed at the entire satellite telecommunications value chain, covering both the commercial and institutional parts, to explore innovative space solutions to address SOCIETY NEEDS in terms of CONNECTIVITY.

More information: https://space2connect.esa.int/ 

Launch of the last Ariane 5 (VA261) from Europe’s Spaceport, French Guiana

Launch window: mid-to-late June 2023

The final Ariane 5 launch (VA261) will carry two geostationary communications satellites for the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA). This last flight will mark the completion of 117 Ariane 5 missions.

More information: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Launch_vehicles/Ariane_5 

International Paris Air Show, Space Salon, Le Bourget, France

Date : 19 – 25 June 2023

Join us at the joint ESA-CNES pavilion at the 54th edition of the International Paris Air Show, which will take place at the Paris-Le Bourget Exhibition Centre in June. This week-long event will once again gather all the world's industry players around the latest technological innovations.

The first four days of the Show will be reserved for professionals followed by three days open to the public.

More information: https://www.siae.fr/ 

Launch of ESA Euclid satellite from Cape Canaveral, United States

Launch window: Not earlier than July 2023

Euclid was developed to explore the evolution of the ‘dark Universe’. It will create a 3D map of the Universe (with time as the third dimension) by observing billions of galaxies at up to 10 billion light-years, or over more than a third of the sky.

More information: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid_overview 

Aeolus de-orbiting and re-entry, European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany

Currently targeting July 2023

On 30 April 2023, all nominal operations of Aeolus, the first mission to observe Earth’s wind profiles on a global scale, concluded in preparation for a series of end-of-life activities. Teams are currently finalising detailed plans to carefully re-enter the satellite back to Earth, with a series of special operations foreseen at ESOC Darmstadt during the final weeks prior to re-entry.

 More information: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Aeolus 

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s Huginn mission
Date: August 2023
Andreas Mogensen, from Denmark, is ESA’s next astronaut to fly to the ISS for a six-month mission focused on science in orbit.

More information: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Introducing_Huginn 

Updates on launches and other events will also be published on the ESA Newsroom Calendar:
https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Calendar

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About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organization, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with five Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int 

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