This list comprises all spacecraft that have been operated from ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, since its inauguration on 8 September 1967 until today (see note below on how this number was calculated).
Name | Purpose | Launch date | Note | Mission duration | |
1 | ESRO-2B | Science | 17.05.1968 | - | 3 years |
2 | ESRO-1A | Science | 03.10.1968 | - | 2 years |
3 | HEOS-A1 | Science | 05.12.1968 | - | 7 years |
4 | ESRO-1B | Science | 01.10.1969 | - | 2 months |
5 | HEOS-A2 | Science | 31.01.1972 | - | 2 years |
6 | TD-1A | Science | 12.03.1972 | - | 2 years |
7 | ESRO-4 | Science | 22.11.1972 | - | 2 years |
8 | ANS | Science | 30.08.1974 | Netherlands Space Agency - UV, X-ray observatory | 1 year, 8 months |
9 | COS-B | Science | 09.08.1975 | - | 7 years |
10 | GEOS-1 | Science | 20.04.1977 | - | 5 years |
11 | ISEE-2 | Science | 22.10.1977 | Operated from NASA/GSFC | 10 years |
12 | Meteosat-1 | Weather | 23.11.1977 | - | 8 years |
13 | IUE | Science | 26.01.1978 | Operated from ESAC, joint w/NASA | 18 years |
14 | OTS-2 | Telecom | 11.05.1978 | - | 13 years |
15 | GEOS-2 | Science | 14.07.1978 | - | 6 years |
16 | Meteosat-2 | Weather | 19.06.1981 | - | 10 years |
17 | Marecs-A | Telecom | 20.12.1981 | - | 14 years, 9 months |
18 | Exosat | Science | 26.05.1983 | - | 3 years |
19 | ECS-1 | Telecom | 16.06.1983 | Operated from Redu | 13 years, 6 months |
20 | ECS-2 | Telecom | 04.08.1984 | Operated from Redu | 9 years |
21 | Marecs-B2 | Telecom | 10.11.1984 | - | 7 years |
22 | Giotto | Science | 02.07.1985 | - | 7 years |
23 | ECS-4 | Telecom | 16.09.1987 | Operated from Redu | 15 years, 3 months |
24 | Meteosat-3 (P2) | Weather | 15.06.1988 | - | 7 years |
25 | ECS-5 | Telecom | 21.07.1988 | Operated from Redu | 12 years |
26 | Meteosat-4 (MOP-1) | Weather | 06.03.1989 | First in Meteosat Operational Programme (MOP) | 6 years |
27 | Olympus | Telecom | 12.07.1989 | LEOP only | - |
28 | Hipparcos | Science | 08.08.1989 | - | 4 years |
29 | Ulysses | Science | 06.10.1990 | Operated by ESA from JPL | 18 years |
30 | Italsat F1 | Telecom | 15.01.1991 | LEOP only - Italy's first operational communications satellite | - |
31 | Meteosat-5 (MOP-2) | Weather | 02.03.1991 | - | 15 years, 11 months |
32 | ERS-1 | Earth observation | 17.07.1991 | Complete | 5 years |
33 | Eureca - deployment | Microgravity | 31.07.1992 | Deployed from Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-46 | - |
- | Eureca - retrieval | Microgravity | 01.07.1993 | Retrieved by Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-57 | 11 months |
34 | Meteosat-6 (MOP-3) | Weather | 20.11.1993 | - | - |
35 | ERS-2 | Earth observation | 21.04.1995 | Complete | 16 years |
36 | ISO | Science | 17.11.1995 | LEOP only - operated from ESAC | - |
37 | Italsat F2 | Telecom | 08.08.1996 | LEOP only | - |
38 | Meteosat-7 (MTP) | Weather | 02.09.1997 | LEOP only - operated by EUMETSAT | - |
- | Huygens launch | Science | 15.10.1997 | Launch on Cassini for cruise to Saturn | - |
39 | Teamsat | Technology demo | 30.10.1997 | Joint with ESTEC | 5 days |
40 | XMM | Science | 10.12.1999 | - | Ongoing |
41-42 | Cluster-II | Science | 16.07.2000 | Satellites 2 & 3 (Cluster 2 re-entry 09.09.2024; mission now in 'caretaker' mode) | 24 years, 2 months |
43-44 | Cluster-II | Science | 09.08.2000 | Satellites 1 & 4 | - |
45 | Envisat | Earth observation | 01.03.2002 | Complete 09.05.2012 | 9 years, 10 months |
46 | MSG-1 | Weather | 29.08.2002 | Meteosat Second Generation: LEOP only - operated by EUMETSAT | - |
47 | Integral | Science | 17.10.2002 | - | Ongoing |
48 | Mars Express | Science | 02.06.2003 | - | Ongoing |
49 | SMART-1 | Science | 27.09.2003 | Demonstrate electric-ion propulsion & lunar science | 2 years, 11 months |
50 | Rosetta | Science | 02.03.2004 | Philae comet landing 12.11.2014 | 12 years, 11 months |
- | Huygens landing | Science | 14.01.2005 | Launch 15.10.97 - Separation from Cassini 25.12.04 - Titan landing 14.01.05 | - |
51 | Venus Express | Science | 09.11.2005 | Mission complete - data analysis continues | 9 years |
52 | MSG-2 | Weather | 21.12.2005 | LEOP only - operated by EUMETSAT | - |
53 | MetOp-A | Weather | 19.10.2006 | LEOP only - operated by EUMETSAT | - |
54 | GOCE | Earth observation | 17.03.2009 | Electric-ion propulsion | 4 years, 7 months, 26 days |
55 | Herschel | Science | 14.05.2009 | Orbit at L2 | 4 years, 1 month |
56 | Planck | Science | 14.05.2009 | Orbit at L2 | 4 years, 5 months |
57 | CryoSat 2 | Earth observation | 08.04.2010 | Ice mission | Ongoing |
58 | MSG-3 | Weather | 05.07.2012 | LEOP only - operated by EUMETSAT | - |
59 | Metop-B | Weather | 17.09.2012 | LEOP only - operated by EUMETSAT | - |
60-62 | SWARM | Earth observation | 22.11.2013 | Trio studying Earth's magnetic field | Ongoing |
63 | Gaia | Observatory | 19.12.2013 | Billion-star surveyor | 11 years, 3 months |
64 | Sentinel-1A | Earth observation | 03.04.2014 | First Copernicus mission | Ongoing |
65-66 | Galileo FOC G5 & G6 | Navigation | 22.08.2014 | LEOP by joint ESOC/CNES team from ESOC | - |
- | Philae landing | Science | 12.11.2014 | Launch 02.03.2004 - Separation from Rosetta & Comet 67P landing 12.11.2014 | - |
67 | Sentinel-2A | Earth observation | 23.06.2015 | Second Copernicus mission | Ongoing |
68 | MSG-4 | Weather | 15.07.2015 | LEOP only - operated by EUMETSAT | - |
69-70 | Galileo FOC G9 & G10 | Navigation | 11.09.2015 | LEOP by joint ESOC/CNES team from ESOC | - |
71 | LISA Pathfinder | Technology demo/Science | 03.12.2015 | Demonstrate technology for observing gravitational waves | 594 days |
72 | Sentinel-3A | Earth observation | 16.02.2016 | Third Copernicus mission/handover to Eumetsat after commissioning | - |
73 | ExoMars/TGO | Science & data relay | 14.03.2016 | First ExoMars mission - investigating Martian atmosphere. Orbit entry 19.10.2016 | Ongoing |
74 | Sentinel-1B | Earth observation | 25.04.2016 | Joined its identical twin, Sentinel-1A, in orbit to deliver radar data for Copernicus | 8 years, 5 months |
75-76 | Galileo FOC G13 & G14 | Navigation | 24.05.2016 | LEOP by joint ESOC/CNES team from ESOC | - |
- | Schiaparelli landing | Technology demonstration | 16.10.2016 | Separation from ExoMars/TGO; Mars surface impact 19.10.2016 | 3 days |
77 | Sentinel-2B | Earth observation | 07.03.2017 | Fourth Copernicus mission | Ongoing |
78 | Sentinel-5P | Earth observation | 13.10.2017 | Fifth Copernicus mission | Ongoing |
79 | Sentinel-3B | Earth observation | 25.04.2018 | Third Copernicus mission - operated by Eumetsat | - |
80 | Aeolus | Earth observation | 22.08.2018 | ESA's wind mission | 5 years, 11 months |
81 | BepiColombo | Science | 20.10.2018 | Investigating Mercury's mysteries | Ongoing |
82 | MetOp-C | Weather | 07.11.2018 | LEOP only - operated by Eumetsat | - |
83 | OPS-SAT | Technology demonstration | 18.12.2019 | ESA's tiny, open-platform, flying test-bed demonstrating innovative technology | 4 years, 5 months |
84 | Solar Orbiter | Science | 10.02.2020 | Obtaining close-up, high-latitude observations of the Sun | Ongoing |
85 | Sentinel-6A | Earth Observation | 21.11.2020 | LEOP only - operated by Eumetsat | - |
86 | Juice | Science | 14.04.2023 | Exploring the Jupiter system | Ongoing |
87 | Euclid | Science | 01.07.2023 | Studying dark matter & energy | Ongoing |
88 | EarthCARE | Earth observation | 29.05.2024 | ESA's cloud, aerosol and radiation mission | Ongoing |
89 | Sentinel-2C | Earth observation | 05.09.2024 | Delivering high-resolution images for Europe's Copernicus | Ongoing |
90 | Hera | Space safety | 07.10.2024 | Europe's first planetary defence mission heading to a double-asteroid system | Ongoing |
91 | Sentinel-1C | Earth observation | 05.12.2024 | Advanced radar technology to provide an all-weather, day-and-night imagery of Earth’s surface; Sentinel-1C and -1D introduce new capabilities for detecting and monitoring maritime traffic. | Ongoing |
92 | Biomass | Earth observation | 29.04.2025 | P-band synthetic aperture radar to deliver new information about forests and their role in the carbon cycle. | Ongoing |
EUMETSAT: European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
GSFC: Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA)
JPL: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA)
CST: Centre spatial de Toulouse (CNES)
Notes
To arrive at the total indicated in the table, we counted all spacecraft that were operated from ESOC for (a) their LEOP, or (b) for their LEOP followed by routine operations through to end of life. We exclude launches that failed (e.g. Cluster I, CryoSat 1, SEOSat).
For a full list of all missions conducted by ESA, which includes missions not controlled from ESOC, access: Our Missions.
ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), which conducted a sub-orbital test flight in 2015, was supported by teams deployed from ESOC to the ALTEC control centre, Turin, and on board ship.
Eureca's deployment and retrieval are counted as one, despite the fact that both operations required full planning, training & simulation campaigns.
In the past decades, numerous missions operated from locations other than ESOC have been supported by personnel from ESOC, e.g. Ariane launches are supported by Estrack's Santa Maria station, while ATV missions were supported by operations specialists dispatched from ESOC to the ATV Control Centre, Toulouse.
ESOC facilities were lent to the Netherlands Space Agency for their mission, the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite (ANS), launched on 30 August 1974 from the Western Test Range in California. This mission was a concerted effort involving teams at ESOC and the ANS team; it was also the first non-ESRO satellite controlled from ESOC and ESOC's first experience with a satellite equipped with an on-board computer.
Dates indicated correspond to GMT.
ESA's Proba-1, -2, -V and -3 missions were/are controlled by ESA's Operations team from Redu.
The initial set of Galileo dual-launch LEOPs were conducted alternately from ESOC and CNES Toulouse by a joint ESA/CNES mission team. The LEOPs listed above were done at ESOC; additionally, Galileo LEOPs for In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites G1 & G2 and GS & G4 were done at CST Toulouse, as were the LEOPs for Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites G7 & G8 and G11 & G12.
For a detailed list of missions currently in flight access Past, current and future missions.
As part of our celebrations for the 50th anniversary of ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, we are pleased to make available the delightful ESOC history, How to Survive in Space, as a two-part downloadable eBook.
The two volumes were penned by former ESA staff member Madeleine Schäfer as a wry, often-humorous personal recounting of the events and people at ESOC through its initial years, and end in 1997.
Madeleine was the 6th person recruited, and in 1964 joined the-then new European Space Data Centre, which was renamed ESOC and inaugurated as such in new facilities on the west side of Darmstadt in September 1967.
View both volumes as eBooks (links below) or directly download them as PDF files: Vol I Vol II
First volume: How to Survive in Space Vol. 1
Second volume: How to Survive in Space Vol. 2
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