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Space Agencies and Companies

European Space Agency

Also Known As ESA
Space Agencies of Europe

An intergovernmental space agency with 22 member states, coordinating Europe's space programs and partnering with NASA on missions including the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.

Facts
Agency Type
Intergovernmental space agency 1
Founded Year
1975 1
Headquarters
Paris, France 1
Head
Josef Aschbacher (Director General) 2
Annual Budget
approximately 8 billion euros annually (8.26 billion euros for 2026) 2
Connections

Associated With

Space Debris, Concepts

Operates

Ariane 1, Launch Vehicles
Source European Space Agency: History
Automated Transfer Vehicle, Spacecraft

The Automated Transfer Vehicle was the European Space Agency's uncrewed cargo spacecraft that resupplied the International Space Station, 2008-2014.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
BepiColombo, Spacecraft

BepiColombo is a joint ESA/JAXA mission to Mercury; the European Space Agency leads the mission and built the Mercury Planetary Orbiter.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
BepiColombo Mission, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Cassini-Huygens Mission, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
CHEOPS, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Euclid (spacecraft), Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
ExoMars Program, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Gaia, Observatories and Instruments
Source European Space Agency: History
Giotto, Spacecraft

Giotto was the European Space Agency's first deep-space mission, flying past Halley's Comet in 1986.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Herschel Space Observatory, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Hipparcos, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Huygens, Spacecraft

The Huygens probe was built and operated by the European Space Agency as ESA's contribution to the joint Cassini-Huygens mission.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
INTEGRAL, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
International Space Station, Spacecraft
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
International Space Station Program, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
International Ultraviolet Explorer, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Mars Express, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Planck (spacecraft), Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Rosetta, Spacecraft
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Rosetta Mission, Missions and Programs
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Solar Orbiter, Spacecraft

Solar Orbiter is a European Space Agency mission, developed and operated by ESA in collaboration with NASA.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
XMM-Newton, Observatories and Instruments
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: France, located there.
Sources
1. European Space Agency: History
European Space Agency
  • ESA history page, Convention section
    On 30 May 1975, the ESA Convention was signed by 10 founding Member States and has since now expanded to 23 Member States, three Associate Members, one Cooperating State and Cooperation Agreements with four other EU states.
  • Operates: Gaia
  • Operates: Ariane 1
2. European Space Agency: Corporate News (Director General and Budget)
European Space Agency
  • Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General page, role paragraph
    As Chief Executive Officer of ESA, Dr Aschbacher is responsible for the definition, implementation and development of Europe's space infrastructure and activities.
  • Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General page, budget sentence
    He is responsible for an annual budget of €8 billion and a workforce of 6000 distributed across several establishments, principally in Europe.
View the Source
Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Operates: International Space Station, International Space Station, lead section
  • Operates: Rosetta, Rosetta (spacecraft), Introduction section
    A space probe built by the European Space Agency
  • Operates: Cassini-Huygens Mission, Cassini-Huygens, lead section
  • Operates: International Space Station Program, Wikipedia: International Space Station programme, lead section
  • Operates: Mars Express, Wikipedia: Mars Express, lead section
  • Operates: ExoMars Program, Wikipedia: ExoMars, lead section
  • Operates: Rosetta Mission, Wikipedia: Rosetta (spacecraft), lead section
  • Operates: BepiColombo Mission, Wikipedia: BepiColombo, overview section
  • Operates: Huygens, Wikipedia: Huygens (spacecraft), lead section
  • Operates: Giotto, Wikipedia: Giotto (spacecraft), lead section
  • Operates: BepiColombo, Wikipedia: BepiColombo, lead section
  • Operates: Solar Orbiter, Wikipedia: Solar Orbiter, lead section
  • Operates: Automated Transfer Vehicle, Wikipedia: Automated Transfer Vehicle, lead section
  • Operates: Euclid (spacecraft), Euclid (spacecraft)
    Operator: ESA
  • Operates: Hipparcos, Hipparcos
    Operator: European Space Agency
  • Operates: Planck (spacecraft), Planck (spacecraft)
    Operator: ESA
  • Operates: XMM-Newton, XMM-Newton
    Operator: European Space Agency
  • Operates: CHEOPS, CHEOPS
    Operator: Swiss Space Office / ESA
  • Operates: Herschel Space Observatory, Herschel Space Observatory
    Operator: ESA / NASA
  • Operates: INTEGRAL, INTEGRAL
    Operator: ESA / RKA / NASA
  • Operates: International Ultraviolet Explorer, International Ultraviolet Explorer
    Operator: NASA / ESA / SERC
  • Operates: Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
    Operator: ESA / NASA
View the Source
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