N° 13–2016: Call for Media: Integration of Orion’s European Service Module
11 May 2016
Contracted by ESA, Airbus Defence and Space is building the European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Integration of the module’s flight model for Orion’s first deep-space mission has begun at the company’s Bremen site, Germany, where media representatives are invited to attend a press briefing on 19 May.
ESA and Airbus are playing a major role in the next step in human spaceflight by developing the European Service Module for Orion, NASA’s next-generation exploration spacecraft that will send astronauts on missions beyond the Moon.
The module sits below the crew capsule, and provides propulsion, power, thermal control, water and air.
The first full Orion mission, Exploration Mission-1, will be an uncrewed flight more than 64 000 km beyond the Moon in 2018 to demonstrate the vehicle’s performance before a crewed flight.
Based on decisions from the ESA Ministerial Council meeting in November 2012, the European industrial team led by Airbus Defence and Space is developing and building the European Service Module for Exploration Mission-1, drawing on extensive experience gained from building the five Automated Transfer Vehicle supply ferries for the International Space Station.
Provisional programme
Hall 43, Airbus Defence and Space, Bremen, Germany
10:30 Doors open and welcome
11:00 Start of the event. On podium:
- Jan Wörner, ESA Director General
- Jim Free, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Technical, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate
- Philippe Deloo, ESA head of Orion ESM programme
- Tbd, DLR
- Bart Reijnen, Airbus DS Head of On-Orbit-Services and Exploration
- Walter Cugno, Thales Alenia Space, Vice President Exploration and Science
- Michael Hawes, Lockheed Martin: Vice President & Orion Program Manager
11:50 Q&A
12:15 Individual interviews
12:45 Refreshments
13:30 End of event, more photo opportunities, ‘tour’ of the flight model
How to apply
Media with valid press credentials should contact Airbus by 16 May 2016 at: visits.bremen@airbus.com.
IMPORTANT: security regulations mean that a valid identity card / passport is required to enter the premises. Press cards are not recognised for access to the premises.
For further information, please contact:
ESA Media Relations Office
Tel: +33 1 53 69 72 99
Email: media@esa.int
Airbus Defence and Space Media Relations Office
Tel: +49 89 607 33971
Email: ralph.heinrich@airbus.com
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 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 20 are Member States of the EU.
ESA has established formal cooperation with seven other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
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. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes.
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