Overview
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states, headquartered in Paris. ESA coordinates European launch vehicles, satellites, Earth observation, navigation, science and human spaceflight, with a budget of approximately €7.8 billion.
Key Programmes (2026)
Ariane 6: Europe's new heavy-lift launcher, replacing Ariane 5. Ariane 6 launches from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
Galileo: Europe's global navigation system — 30 satellites providing positioning independent of GPS.
Copernicus / Sentinel: The world's most comprehensive Earth observation programme (joint with EU). Free, open data for climate, disaster response, agriculture and maritime surveillance.
IRIS²: A planned European sovereign broadband constellation for secure government and commercial communications.
ClearSpace-1: ESA's pioneering active debris removal mission — the first retrieval of a debris object from orbit.
Key Facts
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Major Centres | ESTEC (Netherlands), ESOC (Germany), ESRIN (Italy) |
| Launch Site | Guiana Space Centre (Kourou, French Guiana) |
| Astronaut Corps | 5 career astronauts (2022 selection) |