ESA’s CDF opens doors to public – for the first time
For the first time, the Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) was open to the public during the ESA Open Day at ESTEC on 6 October, from 10:00 to 17:00 on a rainy Sunday.
The CDF team prepared a very attractive programme for all ages of the public, including a facility walk through and presentations.

Also included in the Day were four interactive games, mainly dedicated to children (from 5-14 years):
- Memory
- Spot the Differences
- Sat2Planet
- Build Your Satellite.

The children were guided by CDF engineers and experts to solve the challenges of these space games, while learning the secrets of space system design. Everyone who completed the games received their own ‘Space mission designer’ diploma, as well as prizes including books, stickers and posters.
The enthusiasm and interest of the visitors was matched by the passion of the CDF crew. Visitors came in overwhelming numbers, adding up to almost 5 000 in total.