ESOC mission history

17 AGO. 2017 Data de publicação 30333 Visualizações

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



Notes

  1. 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).

  2. For a full list of all missions conducted by ESA, which includes missions not controlled from ESOC, access: Our Missions.

  3. 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.

  4. Eureca's deployment and retrieval are counted as one, despite the fact that both operations required full planning, training & simulation campaigns.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. Dates indicated correspond to GMT.

  8. ESA's Proba-1, -2, -V and -3 missions were/are controlled by ESA's Operations team from Redu.

  9. 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.

  10. For a detailed list of missions currently in flight access Past, current and future missions.



History of ESOC: How to survive in space

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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