Programme
Monday, 15 June
16:00–17:00: ESA DG press conference
Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General, will provide an overview of ESA programmes and answer questions from media. Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Chairman of the Executive Board of the DLR German Aerospace Center and designated Director General of ESA starting 1 July, will also attend.
Tuesday, 16 June
10:45: Signing of Indigo partnership industrial contract
Indigo is a public–private partnership between ESA and global operator Intelsat. It will deliver high-performance ground terminals developed by Newtec in Belgium to exploit the capabilities of the next generation of telecom satellites. This provides a first-mover advantage for European suppliers in an almost exclusively non-European competitive arena.
Speakers include ESA’s DG and the partners’ chief executives.
15:00–16:00: IXV first results press conference
After a perfect mission on 11 February, ESA’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) has travelled from the splashdown site in the Pacific Ocean just west of the Galapagos islands, to Le Bourget.
In the five months since the mission, the initial analysis has been completed and results are ready to be unveiled.
Speakers will be: Giorgio Tumino , IXV Programme Manager, ESA; Stefano Bianchi, Head of Launchers Development Department, ESA; Roberto Provera, Director of Human Spaceflight and Transportation Programmes, Thales Alenia Space; and Roberto Angelini , IXV Programme Manager, Thales Alenia Space.
16:00–17:00: Roundtable: the services of EDRS, Europe's SpaceDataHighway
The European Data Relay System will allow the transmission of data from space at unprecedented quantities and speed. Copernicus Sentinel-1 and -2 will be the first operational satellites to use its innovative laser technology, enabling a true SpaceDataHighway. The project’s key players will discuss its future services and business opportunities.
EDRS is a public–private partnership between ESA and Airbus Defence and Space.
The roundtable will include representatives of future users, and be moderated by Magali Vaissiere, ESA’s Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, and Evert Dudok, Executive VP Communications, Intelligence & Security, Airbus.
Wednesday, 17 June
09:30–10:45: The Rosetta mission: Discoveries and expectations
ESA’s Rosetta comet-chaser has captured the world’s imagination. It is the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet, land and escort it during its journey around the Sun.
Members of the Rosetta team will provide an update on the mission, present some of the latest results, and outline what still lies ahead.
Speakers include: Mark McCaughrean, Senior Science Adviser, ESA; Elsa Montagnon, Deputy Rosetta Flight Director, ESA; Philippe Gaudon, CNES Philae project manager, CNES; Jean-Pierre Bibring, Lead Lander Scientist, IAS Orsay
11:00 - 12:00: Celebration of Luxembourg 10 years membership in ESA
In June 2005 Luxembourg became ESA's 17th Member State. On 17 June 2015 the Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider will celebrate 10 years of Luxembourg membership in ESA together with ESA's Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and with the participation of the President of the Luxembourg Space Cluster and of the Association of Aerospace Industries, GLAE, Yves Elsen at the ESA Pavillion at the Le Bourget Airshow.
Thursday 18 June
15:00 - 15:45 ESA Business Incubator South of France 2nd Anniversary Event
The ESA BIC Sud France has been in place for just two years, and has already grown to be a very successful example of how young, innovative entrepreneurs can be supported in order to start and boost successful businesses using space technologies or space data in other fields of business. Nearly 20 start-up companies have already been incubated at the ESA BIC Sud France, demonstrating the numerous opportunities stemming from space technologies.
By fostering these start up companies ESA, together with local partners, helps to turn their ideas into reality while creating new jobs at the same time.
Public days
During the public days, media and the general public will have the opportunity to learn more about human spaceflight and operations activities.
Of special interest will be the presence of ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet, who will talk about his training and upcoming mission in 2016, and Leopold Eyharts, who flew in 2008 and played a key role in the installation, activation and commissioning of ESA’s Columbus laboratory.
Other highlights include presentations on the Automatic Transfer Vehicle, the Rosetta mission, IXV and the asteroid impact mission.
All times are provisional. Check the ESA website for any updates.