The 17th European Space Conference began at the SQUARE in Brussels on Tuesday 28 January 2025. It’s the first iteration of the conference to feature the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius. In his opening keynote Commissioner Kubilius called for unity in the space ecosystem saying: "Who controls space, controls the future. If we want space to be a force for good, Europe must remain a leading space power." He also emphasised the importance of this year's ESA Council at Ministerial level: "ESA Ministerial Council at the end of this year will be one of the decisive moments. To maximise the effect of our investments we need to work hand in hand."

The European Space Agency Director General gave an opening speech in which he said that a significant funding increase was needed both at ESA and EU levels: "Unity requires effort, vision, and determination. If Europe is to succeed in space and on the global stage, we must act with urgency and purpose. We must increase investment, forge partnerships, and deliver the vision that will elevate Europe to new heights," he said.

Immediately following their speeches, Commissioner Kubilius and ESA Director General Aschbacher attended a joint press point saying available for review here.

Developments in Earth Observation

Sentinel-1D

Entrusted by the European Commission, ESA has signed a contract with Arianespace to secure an Ariane 6 rocket for the launch of the Sentinel-1D satellite, the fourth unit of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission scheduled for the second half of this year. The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite will launch aboard Europe’s new two-booster Ariane 6 rocket, known as Ariane 62, to join its sibling, Sentinel-1C, which was launched last December. Sentinel-1D will replace the older Sentinel-1A satellite, which has been in orbit for almost 11 years, well beyond its nominal lifetime. Developed by ESA for the European Commission, the Sentinel-1 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites flying in the same orbit but 180° apart to optimise global coverage and data delivery for Copernicus.

Sentinel-5

ESA, Eumetsat, the European Commission, and Arianespace meanwhile announced an agreement to advance the launch of the first MetOp Second Generation weather satellite, which also carries the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission, to August 2025 aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. The announcement brings the launch of the MetOp Second Generation satellite, MetOp-SG-A1, forward from the third quarter of this year to August. The Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument to be carried on board the satellited for the European Commission measure the distribution of atmospheric trace gases such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, formaldehyde, glyoxal, carbon monoxide, and methane, as well as aerosols.

CO2M

Building on the initial contract to develop two satellites for the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission, the European Commission and ESA have now entrusted OHB System AG with the development of a third satellite. This addition will accelerate global coverage, enabling faster and more comprehensive measurements of carbon dioxide and methane emissions from human activities to enhance the evaluation of climate mitigation efforts. The three satellites will each carry a near-infrared and shortwave-infrared spectrometer to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide at high spatial resolution.

Copernicus Contributing Missions

Nineteen satellite data companies have signed agreements to provide new or enhanced services to the Copernicus programme in their roles as Copernicus Contributing Missions. ESA and the European Commission consolidated their commitment to providing commercial complementary data through Copernicus Contributing Missions (CCMs), by welcoming 10 established and well-known Earth observation data supply companies which recently signed contracts as part of the CCMs activity. Six of the new signatories are major European Space industry players that offer EO data from European satellites and four are well-known EO data providers offering commercial EO data from satellites that are not part of EU territory. There was also a symbolic ceremony for nine European space scale-ups already under contracts with ESA for CCM, which will become part of the Copernicus Space Data Ecosystem (CSDE), the key Copernicus data platform that offers free access to Copernicus Sentinel data on Earth’s land, oceans and atmosphere. The Copernicus Contributing Missions are commercial satellite missions that play a crucial role in delivering complementary Earth observation (EO) data to meet the needs of the Copernicus Services and the requirements of public authorities. The CCM programme is funded by the European Commission and implemented by ESA. LINK TO

Sentinel-2C

Sentinel-2C has been declared fully operational in a new milestone in the well-established collaboration between ESA and the European Commission. The satellite has now been handed over for its mission. The third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite was launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana aboard the final Vega rocket on 5 September 2024 at 03:50 CEST (4 September 22:50 local time). Like its siblings, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B, the satellite carries a multispectral imager that takes high-resolution images of Earth’s land, islands, and inland and coastal waters from its orbital altitude of 786 km.

Memorandum of Intent on Earth observation and oceans

The European Space Agency and Mercator Ocean International signed a landmark Memorandum of Intent to enhance their collaboration in Earth Observation and Digital Ocean activities. This collaboration builds upon the longstanding partnership within the Copernicus programme.

Envision spacecraft

Europe is a step closer to returning to Venus as the European Space Agency awarded a contract to Thales Alenia Space to build the Envision spacecraft. Following the discoveries of Venus Express, Envision will investigate the planet’s surface, interior and atmosphere with unrivalled accuracy. ESA Director of Science Carole Mundell said “No other mission has attempted such a comprehensive investigation of our remarkably inhospitable neighbour.”

Contracts for IOD/IOV missions with European rideshare providers

The European Space Agency signed on behalf of the European Commission, a series of contracts with small satellite makers to ensure rapid access to orbit through rideshare services for future European innovations. The contract signing is part of the In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) programme managed by ESA on behalf of the European Commission. The contracts were awarded to Aerospacelab, Berlin Space Technologies, D-Orbit, ISISPACE, LuxSpace and Open Cosmos. The IOD/IOV programme ensures that innovative technologies can be effectively tested in space, reducing the time it would otherwise take to bring them to market.