Europe

We use the name 'Europe' to simplify naming. In fact, it may stand for the ESA or the ESRO. On 27 Feb 1961 the COPERS (COmmission Préparatoire Européenne pour la Recherche Spatiale) was created. In 1964 the ESRO (European Space Research Organization) was created to develop satellites. The ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation) was in charge of the development of the Europa launcher. The Convention establishing this organisation came into force on 29 February 1964. This multiple structure merged into a single organization ESA (European Space Agency) on 31 May 1975. Members of ESA: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Canada is an associate member. Luxemburg joined on 30 Jun 2005. Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia and Romania are cooperating states (PECS). Other countries willing to join: Poland, Slovak Republic and Ukraine. The convention says: the purpose of the agency shall be to provide for and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among European states in space research and technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operating space applications systems. The agency is directed by a council composed of representatives of member states. The Director General is the chief executive of the agency and its legal representative. The ESA headquarters are in Paris. The major establishments of ESA are: The European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC), Noordwijk, Netherlands; The European Space Operations Center (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany; ESRIN, Fracasti, Italy.

External resources

Satellites launched

1968
Esro 2B (Iris)
Esro 1A (Aurorae)
Heos 1

1969
Esro 1B (Boreas)

1972
Heos 2
TD 1A
Esro 4

1975
Cos B

1977
ESA-Geos 1
ISEE 2
Meteosat 1

1978
OTS 2
ESA-Geos 2

1979
Cat 1

1981
Meteosat 2
Cat 3
Marecs A
Cat 4

1983
Exosat

1984
Marecs B2

1988
Meteosat 3

1989
Meteosat 4
Olympus
Hipparcos

1991
Meteosat 5
ERS 1

1992
Eureca 1

1993
Meteosat 6

1995
ERS 2
ISO

1997
Meteosat 7
Maqsat H
Maqsat B
Yes

1999
XMM

2000
Cluster 2 FM6
Cluster 2 FM7
Cluster 2 FM5
Cluster 2 FM8

2001
Artemis
Proba 1

2002
Envisat 1
Meteosat 8
Integral

2005
Maqsat B2
Sloshsat
SSETI Express
Meteosat 9
GSTB v2A

2006
Metop A

2008
GSTB v2B

2009
Smos
Proba 2

2010
Cryosat 2

2011
Galileo IOV PFM
Galileo IOV FM2

2012
Meteosat 10
Metop B
Galileo IOV FM3
Galileo IOV FM4

2013
Proba V
Alphasat
Swarm 1
Swarm 2
Swarm 3

2014
Sentinel 1A
Galileo FOC FM01
Galileo FOC FM02

2015
Galileo FOC FM03
Galileo FOC FM04
Sentinel 2A
Meteosat 11
Galileo FOC FM05
Galileo FOC FM06
Galileo FOC FM09
Galileo FOC FM08

2016
Sentinel 3A
Sentinel 1B
Galileo FOC FM10
Galileo FOC FM11
Galileo FOC FM07
Galileo FOC FM12
Galileo FOC FM13
Galileo FOC FM14

2017
Sentinel 2B
Sentinel 5P
Galileo FOC FM15
Galileo FOC FM16
Galileo FOC FM17
Galileo FOC FM18

2018
Sentinel 3B
Galileo FOC FM19
Galileo FOC FM20
Galileo FOC FM21
Galileo FOC FM22
ADM-Aeolus
Metop C

2019
EDRS C
Cheops
OPS-sat

2020
Sentinel 6A

2021
Galileosat 27 Galileo FOC FM23
Galileosat 28 Galileo FOC FM24

2022
Meteosat 12 (MTG I1)

2023
Pretty
PVCC

Main programs

Launchers