N° 1–1997: 1997: A busy year for European space

The timetable for the European space activities in 1997 is already quite busy, with many important events lined up.

ESA will once more play a leading role at European and international level at the following events:

January

10/1-to June : "Journey through the cosmos",exhibition at Palazzo Della Ragione, Padova, Italy. ESA participation in the exhibition.

28/1 Ariane-4 flight 93 (V93), launch of GE2 and Nahuel 1a.

end Opening of remote sensing classroom for secondary school pupils and teachers. Permanent facility at the Noordwijk Space Expo, ESA/ESTEC visitors center in the Netherlands.

February

13/2 STS-82/HST-2 (Hubble Space Telescope second servicing mission), 10 days.

end Ariane-4 flight 94 (V94), launch of Intelsat 801.

March

to mid April Kuffner Observatory, Vienna, Austria: ESA exhibit.

4/3 t.b.c. ESA Council meeting at Ministerial level, in Belgium. Follow-on and conclusion of Council meeting of October 1995 in Toulouse.

17-19/3 Second Space Debris conference at ESA/ESOC in Darmstadt,Germany.

17-20/3 Third ERS symposium in Florence, Italy.

20/3 Huygens "flight readiness review" press briefing at DASA, Ottobrunn, Germany.

t.b.c. Ariane-4 flight 95 (V95), launch of Thaicom 3.

27/3 Launch of STS-83/ Microgravity Science Lab with reflight of ESA payload. Duration 16 days.

April

April to Sept Space Exploration exhibition, Kerry County Museum, Ireland.

14-15/4 Hannover industry trade fair, presentation of ESA Technology Transfer programme.

Mid Ariane-4 flight 96 (V96), launch of Panamsat 6.

t.b.c. United States Space Foundation symposium, Colorado Springs, USA; ESA exhibit.

26/4-11/6 Swiss Space Days at the Musee du Transport, Lucern, Switzerland. Symposia on weekend of 26-27/4, 3-4/5 (public event with ESA astronauts Claude Nicollier and Thomas Reiter) and 10-11/5.

t.b.c. European Geophysics Society, Titan workshop in Vienna, Austria.

May

1-31/5 Exhibition in Venice, Italy and

13-16/5 Hipparcos Venice 97: symposium and press event.

15-24/5 STS-84, Shuttle/Mir mission with ESA astronaut J-F. Clervoy on board.

June

(14) 15-22/6 Paris Air Show 97 (Le Bourget). Tentative ESA programme: Sat. 14/6: Inauguration and press day Sun. 15/6: General public day Mon.16/6: a.m. press breakfast with the ESA Director General. p.m.: press briefing on Applications programme. Tue. 17/6: a.m. press breakfast on Science programme. p.m.: press briefing on the Ariane 5 programme. Wed.18/6: a.m. press breakfast "International Space Station partners" Fri. 20/6: a.m. press briefing on Technology Transfer programme Sat. 21/6: a.m. public event on Manned Space activities , in the presence of ESA astronauts. Sun. 22/6: General public day

24-27/6: Testing facilities symposium/ inauguration of Hydra facility at ESA/ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

July

t.b.c Second Ariane 5 qualification flight (A502).

t.b.c. Ariane-4 flight, launch of Meteosat Transition Programme (MTP) spacecraft.

September

10/9 Launch of STS-86, including ARP payload (third and last demo flight).

October

6/10 Launch of Cassini/Huygens from KSC in Florida, USA on a Titan IV launcher.

6/10-10/10 IAF congress and exhibition, Torino, Italy.

November

27/11 Launch of the first International Space Station element, the Russian Functional Cargo Block, on a Russian Proton launcher.

t.b.c. Third Ariane 5 qualification flight (A503)

Dates of certain events, especially those related to launches, very much depend on various factors such as readiness of spacecraft and of launcher, etc. and thus remain t.b.c (to be confirmed) for quite some time. We will timely keep you up-to-date with all these events, and many more, with the usual flow of Press Releases and Information Notes.