Past missions


ESOC's Main Control Room in the 1960s
 
ESOC's Main Control Room in the 1960s
 
 
In September 1967, the European Space Operations Centre was formally inaugurated in Darmstadt, Germany, to provide satellite control for the European Space Research Organisation, today known as ESA. By May 1968, ESOC was already conducting its first operations, controlling ESRO-2B, a scientific research satellite and the first in a long series of successful missions operated from ESOC for ESRO, and later ESA. Since then, ESOC has successfully operated over 50 missions.
 
This section provides an overview of past highlight missions that have been controlled from ESOC and partner locations by ESA's Operations team.

  
 
Huygens on Titan
 
--
 
 
Cassini-Huygens
  
The Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn is one of the most ambitious planetary exploration missions ever mounted. After arrival at Saturn in July 2004, ESA's Huygens probe was released from Cassini and descended via parachute to touch-down on Titan, one of the solar system's most enigmatic moons, on 14 January 2005.

  
 
SMART-1
 
--
 
 
SMART-1
  
SMART-1 was ESA’s first Moon mission. In addition to investigating the Moon and studying chemical elements in the lunar surface, the spacecraft successfully demonstrated the use of advanced ion propulsion for navigation and a number of innovative mission control techniques.


 
 
The Automated Transfer Vehicle
 
--
 
 
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-1)
  
ESA's ongoing series of Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) spacecraft make regular flights to the ISS, delivering equipment, spare parts, food, air and water to the permanent crew onboard Station. It also peforms reboosts for the ISS. ATV-1, Jules Verne, docked with the ISS on 4 April 2008 and reentered Earth's atmosphere on 29 September 2008.


  
 
Ulysses, artist’s impression
 
--
 
 
Ulysses
  
Ulysses was the first mission to study the environment of space above and below the poles of the Sun. Ulysses was tracked by NASA's Deep Space Network and a joint ESA/NASA team at NASA/JPL ran operations and data management.

  
 
 
--
 
 
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-2)
  
ESA's ongoing series of Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) spacecraft make regular flights to the ISS, delivering equipment, spare parts, food, air and water to the permanent crew onboard Station. It also peforms reboosts for the ISS. ATV-2, Johannes Kepler, docked with the ISS on 24 February 2011 and reentered Earth's atmosphere on 21 June 2011.


  
 
ERS satellite
 
--
 
 
ERS-2
  
ERS-2 was ESA's second Earth Observation mission. The satellite carried seven instruments including the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment and was launched in April 1995, four years after ERS-1, the first European Remote Sensing satellite. The missions paved the way for the development of many new Earth observation techniques.


  
 
  
Last update: 27 October 2011


Past missions

 •  Cassini-Huygens operations (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMB6TWIPIF_0.html)
 •  SMART-1 (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMC6SITPQG_0.html)
 •  ATV Jules Verne (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEM2AGPR4CF_0.html)
 •  Ulysses operations (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMHTMQJNVE_0.html)
 •  ATV Johannes Kepler (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMW6K161YF_0.html)
 •  ERS-2 operations (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMM1Z8L6VE_0.html)