European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an inter-governmental organization dedicated to exploration of space and its exploitation. Its headquarters are in Paris, France. It is responsible for the development of the Ariane 4 and Ariane 5 satellite launcher.
The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) was established on March 20, 1964 per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962. Today this is still a part of ESA, now called ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Centre). It is based in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
The ESA consists of fifteen member states: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. France is the main contributor (see also CNES). Currently, ESA is not affiliated with the European Union (EU) — note that its membership contains non-EU countries such as Switzerland and Norway. Since January 1st 1979 Canada has the special status of cooperating state with the ESA. By virtue of this accord Canada takes part in ESA deliberative bodies and decision-making and also in ESA's programmes and activities. Canadian firms can bid for and receive contracts to work on programmes. The accord has a provision ensuring a fair industrial return to Canada .
Luxembourg and Greece will become full members on December 2005.
Its projects include:
- Galileo positioning system - a proposed satellite positioning system
- Mars Express - a space probe to Mars
- Venus Express - a space probe to Venus
- Rosetta - a space probe lauched 2004 that will land on a comet
- Columbus orbital facility - a science laboratory that is part of the ISS
- ATV - an Automated Transfer vehicle, i.e. a space freighter comparable to Progress for the ISS
- Hipparcos - a space-based astrometry mission
- Smart 1 - testing new propulsion technology
- Vega - planned launcher for small payloads.
- Swarm
The ESA has also collaborated with NASA on several missions:
The ESA has a staff of about 1,700. Its 1999 budget was 2,650.8 million euros.The ESA's spaceport (its launch site) is the Guiana space center in Kourou, French Guiana, a site chosen because it is close to the equator, thereby allowing easier (less fuel for a given mass) access to commercially important orbits such as GEO. ESA Mission Control (ESOC) is in Darmstadt, Germany.