N° 36–2014: Call for Media: Signing of the Orion Service Module industrial contract

ESA has awarded a contract to Airbus Defence and Space to develop and build the service module for Orion, NASA’s new crewed spacecraft. It is the first time that Europe will provide system-critical elements for a US space project.  

To celebrate the signing of the contract, you are cordially invited to a press briefing on Monday 17 November at 14:00 CET at the State Representative Office of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, located at Hiroshimastrasse 24, 10785 Berlin, Germany.

The press conference will feature:

– Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary and Federal Govern-ment Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy,

– Mark S. Geyer, NASA Orion Program Manager,

– Martin Günthner, Senator for Business, Labour and Ports of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen,

– Thomas Reiter, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations,

– Rolf Densing, Director of ESA Space Programmes at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) (invited),

– Bart Reijnen, Head of Orbital Systems and Space Exploration at Airbus Defence and Space.

Registration

Please sign up for the press conference via Airbus Defence and Space by email: presse@astrium.eads.net or telephone: +49 421 539 5326 before 11 November.

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, Luxem-bourg, 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, are likely soon to become new ESA Member States.

ESA has Cooperation Agreements with six other 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, naviga-tion, 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