N° 17–2015: Call for Media: ESA at the Paris Air & Space Show
ESA will be present at the Paris Air & Space Show at Le Bourget with a pavilion offering media and other guests an overview and updates of its activities, 40 years after the signing of the ESA Convention.
The pavilion will highlight how ESA’s driving ambition – pushing the frontiers of knowledge – is an engine for innovation and growth. By pursuing challenging targets, ESA ensures that Europe’s space industry and science capability are at the forefront in all space domains. Space is a prime example of a successful Europe.
Symbolising this successful strategy, two ESA projects are prominently showcased outside the ESA pavilion: the Rosetta comet chaser and the IXV experimental spaceplane. Rosetta was conceived in the mid-1980s and culminated last November with its historic landing on a comet. Fresh from its successful test flight and recovery in February, and after a long journey, IXV is also displayed.
Inside the pavilion, visitors will be invited to follow the latest developments of ESA in all areas of space, from astronomy and planetary science to Earth science, telecommunications and integrated applications, human spaceflight and exploration, navigation and launchers.
The key role of space in understanding and preventing the adverse effects of climate change will be given particular importance.
The ESA pavilion will be at its traditional, central location, near the full-size Ariane 5 and Ariane 1 mockups.
You can follow ESA at the Air & Space Show online via:
Twitter: @ESAExhibitions, @ESA, @ESA_FR and #SpaceBourget
Facebook: via https://www.facebook.com/esaexhibitionspage & facebook.com/EuropeanSpaceAgency
Google+: google.com/+EuropeanSpaceAgency
Flickr: flickr.com/europeanspaceagency & flickr.com/esa_events
Instagram: instagram.com/europeanspaceagency/
Several events will be streamed live on the web. See www.esa.int for more details.
Media are invited to attend the following events:
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 US satellite 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
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.
About the 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 20 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 18 are Member States of the EU. Two other Member States of the EU, Hungary and Estonia, have signed Accession Agreements to the ESA Convention and will soon become new ESA Member States.
ESA has established formal cooperation with seven Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
ESA is also working with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes.
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.
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.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int
For further information:
ESA Media Relations Office
Email: media@esa.int
Tel: +33 1 53 69 72 99