EIB and ESA to cooperate on increasing investments in the European Space Sector

Paris, 10 July 2018

Today Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), welcomed Jan Wörner, Director General of ESA, to sign a Joint Statement on behalf of the two organisations.

The Joint Statement puts forth the intention of the two organisations to cooperate on supporting increased investment in the European space sector, thus helping create a level playing field for European companies to grow and become globally competitive. It also supports setting the foundations for Europe’s engagement in Space 4.0 and new space.

“I am very pleased to enhance a fruitful collaboration with ESA, raising awareness for investors, while improving access to finance for promoters in the space sector,” said the EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.

“The EIB supports sustainable investment projects that contribute to growth and employment in Europe, with a focus on innovation and skills, including in the space sector, access to finance for smaller businesses, infrastructure, and climate change.”

Jan Wörner pointed out that, “This joint statement with the EIB is a first and important step. ESA has been the space agency for Europe and the Member States since 1975 and has been instrumental in the development of a globally successful European space sector. As one of the few agencies in the world to be active in nearly all space domains, ESA continues to ensure that space delivers smart growth, highly qualified jobs, and solutions for many current challenges in areas such as climate change, energy, transport, safety and security, agriculture and so on.”

Both representatives highlighted the shared interests of EIB and ESA in further enhancing the competitiveness of European industry, maintaining an independent access to space and critical space capabilities.

At the same time, they recognised that, more than ever before, the sector is no longer only the preserve of institutional players thanks to decades of institutional investments in space. Indeed, they stressed, there is an increasing interest in and growing importance of commercialisation at every level of the space value-added chain: from space manufacturing, to transportation, to satellite operations and the development of consumer services based on satellite signals and data.

By bringing together their complementary expertise and experience, EIB and ESA formalise their shared goal of and intention to promote a seamless chain of investments in space for Europe by developing various axes of cooperation. These include raising awareness among investors of the potential of space as a driver for innovation and growth and supporting actors in the space sector that have promising short- or medium-term growth perspectives. Their common objective is also to improve the access to finance for promoters of space projects, including via the study of suitable joint instruments.

From 2000, the EIB supported significant projects in the space and aerospace sector for total amount of €5.4 billion. As examples, the EIB supported Alphasat (€225 million), Soyuz in French Guiana (€120 million) and many RDI programmes and systems in Europe.

Airbus completes the integration of Cheops satellite

ESA’s new exoplanet hunting satellite is on track for launch by the end of the year

Madrid, 03/07/2018 – Airbus has completed the integration of Cheops (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite), the European Space Agency’s (ESA) first small mission satellite that will carry out an exciting scientific mission, to define the properties of the planets orbiting nearby stars.

Cheops will study these planets using a Ritchey-Chrétien Telescope supplied by the University of Bern, in Switzerland. It was integrated last month at Airbus’ Madrid-Barajas site on the already-finished platform. Following successful integration the spacecraft will be sent to France, Switzerland and The Netherlands for a comprehensive test campaign on 9 July.

The campaign will include a complete set of functional and environmental tests to ensure that the spacecraft is fit for launch. The satellite will then return to Madrid for final functional tests and a final inspection before it is shipped to Kourou, French Guiana, for launch.

The satellite, which is implemented as a partnership between ESA and Switzerland, is on track for launch by the end of the year on a Soyuz rocket from Kourou. The Cheops mission will analyse, for at least three and a half years, the transit of exoplanets as they pass in front of their stars. It will operate from a Sun-synchronous orbit, at an altitude between 650 and 800 km.

Second Space Station mission for Alexander Gerst begins

Paris, 8 June 2018

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst arrived at the International Space Station this morning together with NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos commander Sergei Prokopyev, marking the start of Alexander’s Horizons mission.

The trio were launched into space on 6 June at 11:12 GMT (13:12 CEST) in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

After 34 orbits of Earth over two days, the three astronauts aligned their spacecraft with the 400-tonne International Space Station and approached the orbital outpost for docking. The two days were spent in the cramped orbital module of the Soyuz that is no larger than a car. With limited communications and living space the astronauts had time to adapt to weightlessness and reflect on their mission ahead.

The Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft arrived at the 400-tonne International Space Station on 8 June at 13:01 GMT (15:01 CEST) and docked to the Rassvet module. After standard but thorough checks to ensure an airtight connection between the two spaceships the hatches were opened at 15:17 GMT (17:17 CEST) to let Alexander, Serena and Sergei into their home and workplace for the next six months.

During the second part of his mission, Alexander will take over as commander of the International Space Station, only the second European to do so, after Belgian ESA astronaut Frank de Winne in 2009. ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will be the third European commander next year during his mission in 2019 – a show of trust in European know-how and training for space by the Space Station’s international partners.

Horizons

The mission is called Horizons as a symbol for the unknown and what lies beyond. The mission further cements ESA’s know-how for living and working off-planet. Alexander will be testing ways of operating and working with robots to develop techniques required for further human and robotic exploration of our Solar System such as commanding rovers while orbiting another planet.

Plans to build an international gateway between the Moon and Earth are being discussed this month with Europe supplying key parts such as a habitation module and the service module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft to ferry astronauts, supplies and parts.

An advanced life-support system built in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is set for launch and installation while Alexander is on board. It will allow for humans to live farther away from Earth as it requires less frequent supplies through better recycling of air and water. Next year the Space Station’s communications will get a significant upgrade through a European laser communications system installed outside Columbus that connects to the European Data Relay System.

Research in microgravity

Alexander’s Horizons science programme is packed with European research: he will take part in over 50 experiments to deliver benefits to people on Earth as well as prepare for future space exploration. Many of these experiments will take place in Europe’s Columbus laboratory that is celebrating its 10th anniversary in space this year.Easier and continued access to humanity’s micro-gravity laboratory for researchers has been secured with the installation of the first European commercial micro-gravity research service ICE Cubes earlier this week. For a fixed fee any research team can run an experiment inside the European space laboratory Columbus.

Preparing the future

All these activities fit within the European exploration strategy that brings new knowledge, innovation and inspiration to European citizens built around international cooperation to bring societies around the world together. ESA is preparing exciting programmes with our international partners to build a low-Earth orbit economy, return humans to the Moon and bring samples back from Mars.

Leonardo announces the first satellite-controlled European MALE-class drone flight

•  A flight  campaign  saw  Leonardo’s  innovative,  proprietary  satellite-based  solution  used  to operate  Piaggio  Aerospace’s  P.1HH  HammerHead  drone,  demonstrating  the  ability  to control  unmanned  platforms  beyond  the  range  of  ground-based  radio  coverage 

•  The drone’s  ground  station  linked  up  with  the  Athena-Fidus  satellite,  which  is  managed by  Telespazio’s  Fucino  Space  Centre,  to  operate  the  aircraft,  its  onboard  systems  and  its sensors.  The  satellite  link  was  also  used  to  receive  the  data  acquired  in-flight 

•  Leonardo  is  a  key  player  in  the  development  of  drone-based  capabilities,  products,  and services.  The  Company  is  involved  in  all  of  the  main  national  and  international  initiatives seeking  to  standardise  and  regulate  the  sector

Rome,  23  May  2018  –  The  first  flight  campaign  to  demonstrate  satellite  control  of  a  European-built MALE-class  (Medium  Altitude  Long  Endurance)  drone  has  been  completed  successfully.  A  team comprising  Telespazio  (Leonardo  67%,  Thales  33%)  and  Piaggio  Aerospace  carried  out  the  activity using  a  remotely-piloted  P.1HH  HammerHead  aircraft  as  the  test  bed,  developing  and  integrating capabilities  that  will  enable  drones  to  safely  fly  in  unsegregated  air  space,  beyond  the  range  of  groundbased  radio  coverage  (called  BRLOS  -  Beyond  Radio  Line  Of  Sight).

The  campaign  was  carried  out  at  Birgi  airport  in  Trapani,  Italy  in  order  to  evaluate  the  efficacy  of  the satellite  technology  for  various  dual-use  applications  under  realistic  conditions.  The  flights  are  in  line with  the  objectives  of  the  DeSIRE  II  European  research  project,  led  by  Telespazio  and  jointly  initiated by  the  European  Space  Agency  (ESA)  and  European  Defence  Agency  (EDA). DeSIRE  II  (https://business.esa.int/projects/desire-ii)  will  support  European  standardisation  and regulatory  activities  in  the  drone  sector.

Telespazio,  a  subsidiary  of  Leonardo  and  a  leader  in  Space  services,  has  developed  a  two-way  satellite communication  network  which  was  used  during  the  flight  campaign.  Control  data  from  the  ground station  was  transmitted  to  remotely  operate  the  P.1HH  and  its  on-board  sensors  and  systems,  while data  collected  by  the  drone  during  flight  was  returned  to  the  ground  station  via  the  same  network.  The system  made  use  of  the  Athena-Fidus  satellite  resources,  managed  by  Telespazio’s  Fucino  Space Centre. 

The  success  of  this  set  of  trials  reinforces  Leonardo’s  position  as  a  key  player  in  the  development  of drone-based  capabilities,  products,  and  services,  with  this  campaign  proving  the  Company’s  ability  to support  flights  of  unmanned  systems  in  BRLOS  mode.  The  activities  also  represent  a  step  towards  a future  where  remotely-piloted  aircraft  are  used  to  support  public  services,  such  as  environmental monitoring,  surveillance,  and  emergency  management. 

SpaceDataHighway starts full Copernicus service

The Airbus-operated SpaceDataHighway has begun regularly relaying data from the Sentinel-2A satellite, after the successful end of the commissioning period. This marks the start of the SpaceDataHighway service using all four Copernicus Sentinel satellites and the beginning of a new era for space-based imagery users.

The first two sets of Earth-observing Copernicus Sentinels-1A and -1B and -2A and -2B are signed up to this service as SpaceDataHighway’s anchor customers under an agreement between the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA) as owners of the Copernicus programme, and Airbus as the owner and commercial operator of SpaceDataHighway.

Since using the SpaceDataHighway, the Sentinel-1 constellation has increased the amount of data it produces by about 50%. The service is also able to bring operational added-value to Sentinel-1 users by greatly improving the data timeliness for observations outside Europe. This is an important asset for users, especially when it comes to the routine monitoring of remote areas in the domain of maritime applications or assessment of natural disasters and first line response for emergency.

The SpaceDataHighway is the world’s first “optical fibre in the sky” based on cutting-edge laser technology. It will be a unique system of satellites permanently fixed over a network of ground stations, with the first - EDRS-A - already in space. Each day, it can relay up to 40 terabytes of data acquired by observation satellites, UAVs and manned aircraft, at a rate of 1.8 Gbit/s.

The relay satellites are designed to lock on to low-orbiting satellites via laser and collect their data as they travel thousands of kilometres below, scanning Earth. SpaceDataHighway then immediately sends the collected data down to Europe from its higher position hovering in geostationary orbit, acting as a go-between. This process allows the lower satellites to continuously downlink the information they are gathering, instead of having to store it until they travel over their own ground station. That way, they can send down more data, more quickly.

The SpaceDataHighway is a public–private partnership between ESA and Airbus, with the laser terminals developed by Tesat-Spacecom and the DLR German Space Administration. EDRS-A, the first SpaceDataHighway relay satellite launched in January 2016, offers coverage from the American East Coast to India. A second satellite will be launched in 2018. It will double the system’s capacity and extend the coverage and redundancy of the system. Airbus is willing to expand the SpaceDataHighway with a third node, ERDS-D, to be positioned over the Asia-Pacific region.

Seventh Sentinel satellite launched for Copernicus

Paris, 25 April 2018

The second Sentinel-3 satellite, Copernicus Sentinel-3B, was launched today, joining its identical twin Sentinel-3A in orbit. This pairing of satellites increases coverage and data delivery for the European Union’s Copernicus environment programme.

The 1150 kg Sentinel-3B satellite was carried into orbit on a Rockot launcher from Plesetsk, Russia, at 17:57 GMT (19:57 CEST; 21:57 local time) on 25 April.

Rockot’s upper stage delivered Sentinel-3B into its planned orbit.

Just 92 minutes after liftoff, Sentinel-3B sent its first signals to the Kiruna station in Sweden. Data links were quickly established by teams at ESA’s operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany, allowing them to assume control of the satellite.

During the three-day launch and the early orbit phase, controllers will check that all the satellite’s systems are working and begin calibrating the instruments to commission the satellite. The mission is expected to begin routine operations after five months.

“This is the seventh launch of a Sentinel satellite in the last four years. It is a clear demonstration of what European cooperation can achieve and it is another piece to operating the largest Earth observation programme in the world, together with our partners from the European Commission and Eumetsat,” said ESA Director General Jan Wörner.

With this launch, the first set of Sentinel missions for the European Union’s Copernicus environmental monitoring network are in orbit, carrying a range of technologies to monitor Earth’s land, oceans and atmosphere.

ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Josef Aschbacher, said, “With Sentinel-3B, Europe has put the first constellation of Sentinel missions into orbit – this is no small job and has required strong support by all involved. It allows us to get a very detailed picture of our planet on a daily basis and provides crucial information for policy makers.

“It also offers lots of opportunities for commercial companies to develop new innovative services. And, the free and open data policy allows every citizen to have updates for their own use.

“When we designed such a satellite constellation 20 years ago not everyone was convinced Europe could do that. I am glad to see this has become reality and that it is now a large European success story.”

Copernicus relies on the Sentinels and contributing missions to provide data for monitoring the environment and for supporting civil security activities. Sentinel-3 carries a series of cutting-edge sensors to do just that.

Over oceans, it measures the temperature, colour and height of the sea surface as well as the thickness of sea ice. These measurements are used, for example, to monitor changes in Earth’s climate and for more hands-on applications such as marine pollution.

Over land, this innovative mission monitors wildfires, maps the way land is used, checks vegetation health and measures the height of rivers and lakes.

Data from the Copernicus Programme are used worldwide and are free of charge.

European Space Agency

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

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, 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. Slovenia is an Associate Member.

ESA has established formal cooperation with six 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.

ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities.

Today, it develops and launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space. ESA also has a strong applications programme developing services in Earth observation, navigation and telecommunications.

ESA´s BepiColombo takes to the Air

The first elements of the BepiColombo hardware were loaded into an Antonov An-124 cargo plane

Airbus-built Mercury-Mission is on its way to Kourou Launch Base

Amsterdam, 23/04/2018 - After years of development the BepiColombo spacecraft which will be heading to Mercury from autumn 2018 has at last taken to the air. On 23 April 2018 the first elements of the BepiColombo hardware were loaded into an Antonov An-124 cargo plane for transport from Amsterdam´s Schiphol Airport to the European Spaceport Kourou in French Guiana. After a fuelling stop in the Azores Islands the Antonov will arrive early on 24 April. This Antonov flight was the first of four flights needed to transport the spacecraft and all handling and test equipment to Kourou. The flights are supported by three transports by ship for further items.

Having completed a comprehensive test programme at European Space Agency´s Technology Centre ESTEC in Noordwijk (The Netherlands) the BepiColombo spacecraft is almost ready for launch. Between May and October 2018 the final launch preparations will be performed so that the spacecraft can then be launched aboard an Ariane 5 ECA.

BepiColombo is Europe's first mission to Mercury. It will set off in autumn 2018 (launch window is open from 5 October to 29 November) on a journey to the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet in our Solar System. When it arrives at Mercury in late 2025, it will endure temperatures in excess of 350 °C and gather data during its one year nominal mission, with a possible 1-year extension.

BepiColombo is an interdisciplinary mission performed in a partnership between ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). The BepiColombo mission involves the delivery of the MPO (Mercury Planetary Orbiter) and the MMO (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter) to complementary orbits around the planet Mercury. JAXA provides the MMO, whilst Airbus is prime contractor for ESA, providing the MPO and all other spacecraft hardware. The scientific payload is provided by national agencies.

Airbus-built MetOp-C weather satellite gets ready for launch

As a threefold fleet of EUMETSAT´s polar orbiting meteo satellites, MetOp measurements will further improve weather forecast and climate resarch

Airbus is preparing the next generation of weather satellites, MetOp-SG (Second Generation)

Toulouse, 17/04/2018 – The MetOp-C meteorological satellite is getting ready for upcoming launch in order to join its siblings and further improve the quality of observations and data provided for weather forecast.

Built by Airbus, MetOp-C is the last of the first generation of EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) series of three polar-orbiting satellites, and is planned to be launched on September 18, 2018, from European Space Center in Kourou, French Guyana, aboard a Soyuz rocket.

The MetOp programme has enhanced the accuracy of weather forecasting and allowed extending the short term forecasts by one day.

“MetOp satellites are technologically advanced and their instruments are still state-of-the-art,” said EUMETSAT Director-General Alain Ratier. “We are in the fortunate and unexpected position soon having three MetOp’s in orbit at the same time, because MetOp-A, which was launched in 2006, has exceeded its five-year design life time by far and will remain in orbit until 2022.”

“Building on the successful operation and exceptional longevity of the MetOp satellites, we are still happy to have been entrusted the preparation of MetOp-SG, the next generation of Low Earth Orbit Meteorological satellites for EUMETSAT and ESA”, said Mathilde Royer Germain, Head of Earth Observation, Navigation and Science at Airbus, during a presentation of the satellite to the press.

The MetOp satellites have been developed by Airbus Defence and Space for the European Space Agency (ESA) and EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, and are part of a joint Europe-US cooperation.

Initially, the plan was for each satellite to replace its predecessor, however, the excellent performance of the first two MetOp satellites allows them to be operated simultaneously, providing the meteorological community with increased data. The forthcoming launch of MetOp-C will further improve the quality of observations and data provided for weather forecasts.

Each MetOp satellite carries a total of 12 instruments (10 for MetOp-C), making the system extremely versatile. Two of the instruments have been built by Airbus: the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) and the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT). The MHS, built by Airbus, measures water vapour near the Earth’s surface and is a result of the collaboration with the US.

Two additional microwave humidity sounders are already flying on US NOAA satellites, delivering matching data from a different orbit to enhance weather models.

The other Airbus-built instrument, the “Advanced Scatterometer” (ASCAT) is an active radar instrument which measures wind speed and direction over the open sea. It also provides data for ice and snow coverage as well as surface moisture. ASCAT will scan two 500 kilometres wide corridors and can, therefore, provide almost global coverage within 24 hours.

MetOp also measures ocean surface winds, observes sea ice distribution and monitors the ozone layer in the stratosphere, as well as relaying meteorological measurements collected by boats, buoys and research stations. MetOp A and B also feature a receiver to relay signals sent by persons in distress.

In addition to the expected benefits on weather forecasting, MetOp-C will continue the time series of data begun by MetOp-A, and this long-term outlook is crucial for climate monitoring.

Under development at Airbus, the MetOp-SG will provide continuity and enhancement of meteorological data with improved spectral and spatial resolution compared to the measurements currently provided by the first generation of MetOp satellites. A complete range of observations will be realised using 10 different instruments, covering ultra-violet, visible, infrared and microwave spectral bands.

From 2021 onwards, MetOp-SG will further increase the benefits of accurate weather prediction based on state-of-the-art European technologies and keep contributing to socio-economic benefits worth several billion Euros for European citizens.