N° 13–2022: Call for Media: Inauguration of the new ESA Space Safety Centre
5 April 2022
- ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher will inaugurate the Centre on Tuesday 12 April 2022
- The Centre is located at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany
- It will be used to monitor and provide space weather services and to support transparency and media outreach for ESA activities tackling the challenges posed by solar activity, asteroids and space debris.
Media representatives are invited to participate in an interactive question-and-answer session with the Director General after the inauguration, marking the first media-public appearance of the new ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher in Darmstadt.
The new Centre will be used day-to-day to monitor the health of data from satellite instruments recording space weather, and from the upcoming ESA Vigil mission that will provide advanced warning of potentially dangerous solar activity from a unique vantage point in space.
It will also be used to provide important services that keep our ESA missions safe, such as space weather forecasting, and provide space for young engineers to train and work with these services.
With interactive visuals and screens displaying real-time data, the Centre highlights how ESA is working to protect satellites in orbit and critical infrastructure – like power grids – on ground from solar, asteroid and space debris hazards.
The Centre will also serve as a key element in upcoming ESA-led activities related to space traffic management, the development of automated collision warning technology and other space-safety initiatives.
Event Programme
Tuesday, 12 April 2022
13:00 CEST Media check-in
13:30 CEST Introductory remarks followed by a visit to the Space Safety Centre and ribbon cutting.
The floor will then be opened for an interactive question-and-answer session with the ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Director Rolf Densing.
14:00 CEST End of ceremony, subsequent possibility to make individual interviews
Media Registration
Media representatives are invited to register at the following link latest by Friday, April 8th:
https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form/
For further questions please contact:
Bernhard von Weyhe, T +49 6151902285
E-mail: media@esa.int
Further information
More information about Space Safety at ESA: https://www.esa.int/Safety_Security
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations
More information about ESA: www.esa.int
Images
ESA's Photo Library for Professionals:
https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/
Terms and conditions for using ESA images: https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images
For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly:
spaceinimages@esa.int
Videos
ESA's Video Library for Professionals:
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos_for_Professionals
Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:
https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions
For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int
Social media
Follow ESA on:
Twitter: @esa, @esaoperations, @ESA_de
Facebook: @EuropeanSpaceAgency, @esa.deutsch
Instagram: @europeanspaceagency
YouTube: ESA
LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA, ESA Operations
Pinterest: European Space Agency - ESA
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. Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.
ESA has established formal cooperation with five 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 as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int.