Chancellor Schröder visits ESA-ESOC Mission accomplished for Gerhard Schröder. During a visit to ESA´s satellite control centre, ESOC in Darmstadt, the German chancellor sent a message 10 light minutes away to Mars and carried out a simulation of a satellite manoeuvre. His impression: Quote Gerhard Schröder, German Chanceler If you come to see this institution, to whom I wish all the best for itís 30th anniversary, the first thing you feel there is a very international and confident atmosphere which is good. Something that we sometimes miss in Germany A one-hour visit of the German Chanceler to ESA s anniversary celebration. In his welcoming speech, ESA´s managing director, Jean-Jacques Dordain, pointed to the cooperation between ESA and its partners worldwide, i.e. with the United States and Russia. o-ton Jean-Jacques Dordain, General Director ESA, english It started in 1979 with Ariane 1, ESA´s first satellite launcher. A time when ESA had only ten members. It was just the right moment to be successful. In