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Enabling & Support

N° 8–2016: New ESA Director of Launchers appointed

17 March 2016

At a meeting of the ESA Council held in Paris in restricted session on 16 March 2016, the appointment of Mr Daniel Neuenschwander as ESA Director of Launchers was announced. 

Mr Neuenschwander  is currently Head of the Swiss Space Office and Swiss Delegation to ESA, as well as Chairman of the Programme Board Launchers (PB-LAU). He also serves as Deputy of the Swiss State Secretary for Space Affairs, including for the ESA Co-Presidency at Ministerial level. 

After completing his studies in physical geography at the University of Fribourg and training as an airline pilot, Mr Neuenschwander has spent his professional career in the aerospace sector. 

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 

For further information, please contact: 

ESA Media Relations Office
Tel: +33 1 53 69 72 99
Email: media@esa.int