European Space Agency

After World War II, many European scientists left Western Europe to work with the United States. Although the 1950s boom made it possible for Western European countries to invest in research and specifically in space-related activities, Western European scientists realised solely national projects would not be able to compete with the two main superpowers. In 1958, only months after the Sputnik shock, Edoardo Amaldi (Italy) and Pierre Auger (France), two prominent members of the Western European scientific community, met to discuss the foundation of a common Western European space agency. The meeting was attended by scientific representatives from eight countries.^[8][9][10]

The Western European nations decided to have two agencies: one concerned with developing a launch system, ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation), of which Pierre Auger became the first Director General from 1964 to 1967^[11], and the other the precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation). The latter was established on 20 March 1964 by an agreement signed on 14 June 1962. From 1968 to 1972, ESRO launched seven research satellites, but ELDO was not able to deliver a launch vehicle. Both agencies struggled with the underfunding and diverging interests of their participants.^[12][13]

The ESA in its current form was founded with the ESA Convention in 1975, when ESRO was merged with ELDO. The ESA had ten founding member states: Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.^[14] These signed the ESA Convention in 1975 and deposited the instruments of ratification by 1980, when the convention came into force.^[15] During this interval the agency functioned in a de facto fashion.^[16]

ESA launched its first major scientific mission in 1975, Cos-B, a satelite monitoring gamma-ray emissions in the universe, which was first worked on by ESRO.^[17] ESA collaborated with NASA on the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), the world's first high-orbit telescope, which was launched in 1978 and operated successfully for 18 years.^[18][19] A number of successful Earth-orbit projects followed, and in 1986 ESA began Giotto, its first deep-space mission, to study the comets Halley and Grigg–Skjellerup.^[20] Hipparcos, a star-mapping mission, was launched in 1989^[21] and in the 1990s SOHO, Ulysses, and the Hubble Space Telescope were all jointly carried out with NASA.^{[22][23][24][25]} Later scientific missions in cooperation with NASA include the Cassini–Huygens space probe, to which the ESA contributed by building the Titan landing module Huygens.^[26]

As the successor of ELDO, the ESA has also constructed rockets for scientific and commercial payloads. Ariane 1, launched in 1979, carried mostly commercial payloads into orbit from 1984 onward. The next two versions of the Ariane rocket were intermediate stages in the development of a more advanced launch system, the Ariane 4, which operated between 1988 and 2003 and established the ESA as the world leader in commercial space launches in the 1990s.^[27][28] Although the succeeding Ariane 5 experienced a failure on its first flight in 1996,^[29] it has since firmly established itself within the heavily competitive commercial space launch market with 112 successful launches until 2023.^[30][31] In 1998, ESA started developing the small-lift launch vehicle Vega,^[32] which has since flown 22 times between 2012 and 2024.^[33]

The beginning of the new millennium saw the ESA become, along with agencies like NASA and JAXA, one of the major participants in space research. Although ESA had relied on co-operation with NASA in previous decades, changed circumstances, such as tough legal restrictions on information sharing under ITAR,^[34] led to decisions to rely more on itself and on cooperation with Roscosmos.^[35]

The agency continued its contribution to the International Space Station (ISS) programme with European astronauts joining assembly flights as well as long-term missions to the station. In 2008, ESA added its laboratory module Columbus to ISS and started launching the ATV cargo spacecraft.^[36]

Notable ESA missions during the 2000s included the agency's first Moon, Mars, and Venus orbiters: SMART-1,^[37] Mars Express, and Venus Express.^[38][39] ESA's Huygens probe, launched together with the NASA's Cassini mission in 1997, reached its destination in 2005 when it successfully landed on Titan, marking the farthest landing from Earth a spacecraft has ever made.^[40] The comet orbiter Rosetta launched in 2004 and performed multiple deep space flybys and observations during the decade, but wouldn't reach its destination until 2014.^[41]

ESA has launched multiple major astronomy missions in the 2000s: the gamma ray observatory INTEGRAL,^[42] the infrared observatory Herschel, the cosmic microwave background mapper Planck,^[43] and Corot, a milestone in the search for exoplanets.^[44] Notable Earth observation missions launched during the decade included Envisat, Double Star, GOCE, SMOS, and the experimental PROBA series. ESA also contributed to the meteorological constellations Meteosat and MetOp and tested technologies for the future Galileo satellite navigation system with two GIOVE satellites.

In 2021 the ESA ministerial council agreed to the "Matosinhos manifesto" which set three priority areas (referred to as accelerators): 1) space for a green future, 2) a rapid and resilient crisis response, and 3) the protection of space assets, and two further high visibility projects (referred to as inspirators): 1) an icy moon sample return mission and 2) human space exploration.^[45][46] In early 2025, ESA released its "Strategy 2040", a long-term roadmap adopted by the ESA council to define the agency's priorities.^[47][48]

After the Russian invason of Ukraine in 2022, the cooperation between ESA and Roscosmos was mostly severed.^{[49][50][51][52][53]} This led eg. to a delay in the ExoMars programme^[54] and ending of Soyuz launches from the Guiana Space Centre.^[55]

In early 2020s, ESA has added two major components to the ISS. The Bartolomeo platform was connected to the Columbus module in 2020 to increase its capacity for external payloads.^[56] The European Robotic Arm was launched in 2021 together with the Nauka module.^[57] ESA continued contributing European astronauts to regular ISS expeditions, and also started paying private companies for short-term astronaut flights to the station.^[58][59] ESA also started supporting European companies in developing uncrewed space capsules for resupplying the ISS and future space stations,^[60] as well as the Indian ISRO in developing their crewed Gaganyaan spacecraft.^[61][62] The ESA-built European Service Module of the Orion spacecraft flew on its first uncrewed test flight around the Moon in 2022.^[63]

The BepiColombo mission, launched in 2018, has completed all its nine gravity assist maneuvers at Earth, Venus, and Mercury, in preparation for the planned 2026 insertion into Mercury orbit.^[64] The heliophysics mission Solar Orbiter, launched in 2020, continues to perform periodic Venus flybys which gradually increase its orbital inclination, allowing it to observe the Sun from outside the Solar system plane.^[65] The Juice mission, launched in 2023, has so far completed two gravity assist maneuvers at Earth and Venus on its way to enter an orbit around Jupiter in 2031.^[66] The Hera mission, launched in 2024 as the first space mission of the optional Space Safety Programme, flew by Mars in 2025 on its way to perform a post-impact survey of the asteroid Dimorphos which had been impacted by NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission.^[67]

Two European orbiters, Mars Express and TGO, continued their operations around Mars, providing scientific insights into the planet's surface and atmosphere. In 2025, Mars Express received a software update, which could allow it to stay operational until 2030s.^[68]

In the 2020s, ESA started developing a number of space infrastructure projects for long term, sustainable robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars. The Argonaut landers will deliver heavy payloads to the lunar surface.^[69] The Moonlight Initiative will place a constellation of communication and navigation satellites around the Moon.^[70] The LightShip interplanetary space tugs equipped with solar electric propulsion will deliver other spacecraft to Mars and then serve as communication, navigation, and weather satellites within the MARCONI constellation in high Mars orbit.^[71]

The long-awaited NASA-ESA-CSA space telescope JWST finally launched in 2021^[72] and started operating in its halo orbit around the Sun–Earth L₂ point in 2022.^[73] The first half of 2023 saw the launch the Euclid space telescope designed to better understand dark energy and dark matter by accurately measuring the accelerating expansion of the universe.^[74] The experimental PROBA-3 mission, launched in 2024, successfully demonstrated high-precision formation flying for coronagraphy observation of the Sun.^[75]

The successor to the Vega launch vehicle, Vega C, launched successfully for the first time on 13 July 2022, delivering the LARES 2 satellite and six CubeSats to Earth orbit.^[76][77] The successor to the Ariane 5 launch vehicle, Ariane 6, had its maiden flight on 9 July 2024, followed by the first commercial launch on 6 March 2025.^[78]

In March 2025, ESA officially launched its European Launcher Challenge (ELC) and in July 2025, the agency has preselected five companies for further competition. Initially introduced in November 2023, the program aims to foster new European sovereign launch capabilities, beginning with small launch vehicles and ultimately paving the way for an Ariane 6 successor.^[79][80][81]

The agency's facilities date back to ESRO and are deliberately distributed among various countries and areas. The most important are the following centres:

• ESA headquarters in Paris, France;
• ESA science missions are based at ESTEC in Noordwijk, Netherlands;
• Earth Observation missions at the ESA Centre for Earth Observation in Frascati, Italy;
• ESA Mission Control (ESOC) is in Darmstadt, Germany;
• The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) that trains astronauts for future missions is situated in Cologne, Germany;
• The European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT), a research institute created in 2009, is located in Harwell, England, United Kingdom;
• The European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) is located in Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain.
• The European Space Security and Education Centre (ESEC), located in Redu, Belgium;
• The ESTRACK tracking and deep space communication network.
• Many other facilities are operated by national space agencies in close collaboration with ESA.
  • Esrange near Kiruna in Sweden;
  • Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, France;
  • Toulouse Space Centre, France;
  • Institute of Space Propulsion in Lampoldshausen, Germany;
  • Columbus Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.

The treaty establishing the European Space Agency reads:^[82]

Article II, Purpose, Convention of establishment of a European Space Agency, SP-1271(E) from 2003 – The purpose of the Agency shall be to provide for and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among European States in space research and technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operational space applications systems…

The ESA is responsible for setting a unified space and related industrial policy, recommending space objectives to the member states, and integrating national programs like satellite development, into the European program as much as possible.^[82]

Jean-Jacques Dordain – ESA's Director General (2003–2015) – outlined the European Space Agency's mission in a 2003 interview:^[83]

Today space activities have pursued the benefit of citizens, and citizens are asking for a better quality of life on Earth. They want greater security and economic wealth, but they also want to pursue their dreams, to increase their knowledge, and they want younger people to be attracted to the pursuit of science and technology. I think that space can do all of this: it can produce a higher quality of life, better security, more economic wealth, and also fulfill our citizens' dreams and thirst for knowledge, and attract the young generation. This is the reason space exploration is an integral part of overall space activities. It has always been so, and it will be even more important in the future.

The ESA describes its work in two overlapping ways:

• For the general public, the various fields of work are described as "Activities".
• Budgets are organised as "Programmes".

These are either mandatory or optional.

According to the ESA website, the activities are:

Every member country (known as 'Member States') must contribute to these programmes:^[87] The European Space Agency Science Programme is a long-term programme of space science missions.

• Technology Development Element Programme^[88]
• Science Core Technology Programme
• General Study Programme
• European Component Initiative

Depending on their individual choices the countries can contribute to the following programmes, becoming 'Participating States', listed according to:^[89]

  ESA member states

  ESA associate states

  ESA cooperating state

  ESA ECS states

  ESA Cooperation Agreement states

Member states participate to varying degrees with both mandatory space programs and those that are optional. As of 2008^[update], the mandatory programmes made up 25% of total expenditures while optional space programmes were the other 75%.^[90] The ESA has traditionally implemented a policy of "georeturn", where funds that ESA member states provide to the ESA "are returned in the form of contracts to companies in those countries."^[91]

By 2015, the ESA was an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states.^[7] The 2008 ESA budget amounted to €3.0 billion whilst the 2009 budget amounted to €3.6 billion.^[92] The total budget amounted to about €3.7 billion in 2010, €3.99 billion in 2011, €4.02 billion in 2012, €4.28 billion in 2013, €4.10 billion in 2014, €4.43 billion in 2015, €5.25 billion in 2016, €5.75 billion in 2017, €5.60 billion in 2018, €5.72 billion in 2019, €6.68 billion in 2020, €6.49 billion in 2021, €7.15 billion in 2022, €7.46 billion in 2023 and €7.79 billion in 2024.^[93]

English and French are the two official languages of the ESA.^[94] Additionally, official documents are also provided in German and documents regarding the Spacelab have been also provided in Italian. If found appropriate, the agency may conduct its correspondence in any language of a member state.^[95]

The following table lists all the member states and adjunct members, their ESA convention ratification dates, and their contributions as of 2024:^[96]

Member state or partner	Ratification of ESA convention or association agreement[97]	National programme	Contributions
			M€	% of total	Per capita (€)[98][full citation needed]
Full member states
Austria[note 1]	30 December 1986	ALR	62.4	1.2%	6.85
Belgium[note 2]	3 October 1978	BELSPO	292.6	5.6%	24.91
Czechia	12 August 2008	Ministry of Transport	48.4	0.9%	4.47
Denmark[note 2]	15 September 1977	UFM	35.1	0.7%	5.92
Estonia	1 September 2015	ESO	7.0	0.1%	5.12
Finland	1 January 1995	TEM	33.5	0.6%	6.02
France[note 2]	30 October 1980	CNES	1,048.4	20.1%	15.38
Germany[note 2]	26 July 1977	DLR	1,171.6	22.4%	14.10
Greece	9 March 2005	HSC	16.1	0.3%	1.55
Hungary	4 November 2015	HSO	23.2	0.4%	2.42
Ireland[note 1]	10 December 1980	Enterprise Ireland	22.8	0.4%	4.33
Italy[note 2]	20 February 1978	ASI	881.2	16.9%	14.94
Luxembourg	30 June 2005	LSA	41.6	0.8%	62.95
Netherlands[note 2]	6 February 1979	NSO	117.1	2.2%	6.57
Norway[note 1]	30 December 1986	NSA	71.4	1.4%	13.01
Poland	19 November 2012	POLSA	47.7	0.9%	1.30
Portugal	14 November 2000	PT Space	19.4	0.4%	1.85
Romania	22 December 2011	ROSA	51.0	1.0%	2.68
Slovenia	1 January 2025	SPACE-SI	3.9	0.1%	1.84
Spain[note 2]	7 February 1979	AEE	297.5	5.7%	6.19
Sweden[note 2]	6 April 1976	SNSA	80.0	1.5%	7.60
Switzerland[note 2]	19 November 1976	SSO	188.2	3.6%	21.35
United Kingdom[note 2]	28 March 1978	UKSA	448.9	8.6%	6.60
Others	—	—	203.2	3.9%	—
Non-full members
Canada[note 3]	1 January 1979[100][note 4]	CSA	11.0	0.2%	0.28
Latvia	27 July 2020[102][note 4]	LSO	0.5	0.0%	0.27
Lithuania	21 May 2021[103][note 4]	LSA	0.9	0.0%	0.32
Slovakia	13 October 2022[104][note 4]	SSO	3.5	0.1%	0.65
Members and associates total			5,024.9	64.5%
European Union[note 5]	28 May 2004[105]	EUSPA	1,822.6	23.4%	4.06
EUMETSAT	—	—	116.4	1.5%	—
Other income	—	—	821.2	10.5%	—
Other institutional partners and income total			2,760.2	35.5%
Grand total			7,785.1	100%

Previously associated members were Austria, Norway, Finland and Slovenia, all of which later joined the ESA as full members. Since January 2025 there have been four associate members: Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Canada. The three European members have shown interest in full membership and may eventually apply within the next years.

Latvia became the second current associated member on 30 June 2020, when the Association Agreement was signed by ESA Director Jan Wörner and the Minister of Education and Science of Latvia, Ilga Šuplinska in Riga. The Saeima ratified it on 27 July.^[102]

In May 2021, Lithuania became the third current associated member.^[106] As a consequence its citizens became eligible to apply to the 2022 ESA Astronaut group, applications for which were scheduled to close one week later. The deadline was therefore extended by three weeks to allow Lithuanians a fair chance to apply.^[107]

Slovakia's Associate membership came into effect on 13 October 2022, for an initial duration of seven years. The Association Agreement supersedes the European Cooperating State (ECS) Agreement, which entered into force upon Slovakia's subscription to the Plan for European Cooperating States Charter on 4 February 2016, a scheme introduced at ESA in 2001. The ECS Agreement was subsequently extended until 3 August 2022.^[104]

Cyprus has signed an Associate Agreement in October 2025, with expectations of becoming an associate member in the coming months.^[108]

Since 1 January 1979, Canada has had the special status of a Cooperating State within the ESA. By virtue of this accord, the Canadian Space Agency takes part in the ESA's deliberative bodies and decision-making and also in the ESA's programmes and activities. Canadian firms can bid for and receive contracts to work on programmes. The accord has a provision ensuring a fair industrial return to Canada.^[109] The most recent Cooperation Agreement was signed on 15 December 2010 with a term extending to 2020.^[110][111] For 2014, Canada's annual assessed contribution to the ESA general budget was €6,059,449 (CAD$8,559,050).^[112] For 2017, Canada has increased its annual contribution to €21,600,000 (CAD$30,000,000).^[113]

The ESA is funded from annual contributions by national governments of members as well as from an annual contribution by the European Union (EU).^[114]

The budget of the ESA was €5.250 billion in 2016.^[115] Every 3–4 years, ESA member states agree on a budget plan for several years at an ESA member states conference. This plan can be amended in future years, however provides the major guideline for the ESA for several years. ^{[citation needed]} The 2016 budget allocations for major areas of the ESA activity are shown in the chart on the right.^[115]

Countries typically have their own space programmes that differ in how they operate organisationally and financially with the ESA. For example, the French space agency CNES has a total budget of €2,015 million, of which €755 million is paid as direct financial contribution to the ESA.^[116] Several space-related projects are joint projects between national space agencies and the ESA (e.g. COROT). Also, the ESA is not the only European governmental space organisation (for example European Union Satellite Centre and the European Union Space Programme Agency).

After the decision of the ESA Council of 21/22 March 2001, the procedure for accession of the European states was detailed as described the document titled "The Plan for European Co-operating States (PECS)".^[117] Nations that want to become a full member of the ESA do so in 3 stages. First a Cooperation Agreement is signed between the country and ESA. In this stage, the country has very limited financial responsibilities. If a country wants to co-operate more fully with ESA, it signs a European Cooperating State (ECS) Agreement, albeit to be a candidate for said agreement, a country must be European. The ECS Agreement makes companies based in the country eligible for participation in ESA procurements. The country can also participate in all ESA programmes, except for the Basic Technology Research Programme. While the financial contribution of the country concerned increases, it is still much lower than that of a full member state. The agreement is normally followed by a Plan For European Cooperating State (or PECS Charter). This is a 5-year programme of basic research and development activities aimed at improving the nation's space industry capacity. At the end of the 5-year period, the country can either begin negotiations to become a full member state or an associated state or sign a new PECS Charter.^[118] Many countries, most of which joined the EU in both 2004 and 2007, have started to co-operate with the ESA on various levels:

Applicant state	Cooperation agreement	ECS agreement	PECS charter	Association agreement signature	Associate membership	National programme
Latvia	23 July 2009[119]	19 March 2013[120]	30 January 2015[121]	30 June 2020[102]	27 July 2020[102]	LSO
Lithuania	7 October 2010[122]	7 October 2014[123]	28 September 2015[103]	28 April 2021[103]	21 May 2021[103]	LSA
Slovakia	28 April 2010[124]	16 February 2015[125]	4 February 2016[104]	14 June 2022[104]	13 October 2022[104]	SSO
Bulgaria	11 June 2014[126][127]	8 April 2015[128]	4 February 2016[129]	—	—	SRTI
Cyprus	27 August 2009[130]	6 July 2016[131]	24 April 2017[132]	23 October 2025[108]	—	through MoCW
Croatia	19 February 2018[133]	23 March 2023[134]	16 August 2023[135]	—	—	through MoSE
Malta	20 February 2012[136]	25 October 2023[137]	12 September 2024[138]	—	—	MCST
Turkey	15 July 2004[139]	—	—	—	—	TUA (agreement with TÜBİTAK UZAY)
Ukraine	25 January 2008[140]	—	—	—	—	SSAU
Israel	30 January 2011[141]	—	—	—	—	ISA
Mexico	14 February 2023[142]	—	—	—	—	AEM

During the Ministerial Meeting in December 2014, ESA ministers approved a resolution calling for discussions to begin with Israel, Australia and South Africa on future association agreements. The ministers noted that "concrete cooperation is at an advanced stage" with these nations and that "prospects for mutual benefits are existing".^[143]

A separate space exploration strategy resolution calls for further co-operation with the United States, Russia and China on "LEO exploration, including a continuation of ISS cooperation and the development of a robust plan for the coordinated use of space transportation vehicles and systems for exploration purposes, participation in robotic missions for the exploration of the Moon, the robotic exploration of Mars, leading to a broad Mars Sample Return mission in which Europe should be involved as a full partner, and human missions beyond LEO in the longer term."^[143]

In August 2019, the ESA and the Australian Space Agency signed a joint statement of intent "to explore deeper cooperation and identify projects in a range of areas including deep space, communications, navigation, remote asset management, data analytics and mission support."^[144] Details of the cooperation were laid out in a framework agreement signed by the two entities.

On 17 November 2020, ESA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the South African National Space Agency (SANSA). SANSA CEO Dr. Valanathan Munsami tweeted: "Today saw another landmark event for SANSA with the signing of an MoU with the ESA. This builds on initiatives that we have been discussing for a while already and which gives effect to these. Thanks Jan for your hand of friendship and making this possible."^[145]

The ESA currently has two operational launch vehicles Vega C and Ariane 6.^[146] Rocket launches are carried out by Arianespace, which has 23 shareholders representing the industry that manufactures the Ariane 5 as well as CNES, at the ESA's Guiana Space Centre. Because many communication satellites have equatorial orbits, launches from French Guiana are able to take larger payloads into space than from spaceports at higher latitudes. In addition, equatorial launches give spacecraft an extra 'push' of nearly 500 m/s due to the higher rotational velocity of the Earth at the equator compared to near the Earth's poles where rotational velocity approaches zero.

Ariane 6 is a heavy lift expendable launch vehicle developed by Arianespace. The Ariane 6 entered into its inaugural flight campaign on 26 April 2024 with the flight conducted on 9 July 2024.^[147]

Vega is the ESA's carrier for small satellites. Developed by seven ESA members led by Italy. It is capable of carrying a payload with a mass of between 300 and 1500 kg to an altitude of 700 km, for low polar orbit. Its maiden launch from Kourou was on 13 February 2012.^[148] Vega began full commercial exploitation in December 2015.^[149]

The rocket has three solid propulsion stages and a liquid propulsion upper stage (the AVUM) for accurate orbital insertion and the ability to place multiple payloads into different orbits.^[150][151]

A larger version of the Vega launcher, Vega-C had its first flight in July 2022.^[152] The new evolution of the rocket incorporates a larger first stage booster, the P120C replacing the P80, an upgraded Zefiro (rocket stage) second stage, and the AVUM+ upper stage. This new variant enables larger single payloads, dual payloads, return missions, and orbital transfer capabilities.^[153]

Historically, the Ariane family rockets have been funded primarily "with money contributed by ESA governments seeking to participate in the program rather than through competitive industry bids. This [has meant that] governments commit multiyear funding to the development with the expectation of a roughly 90% return on investment in the form of industrial workshare." ESA is proposing changes to this scheme by moving to competitive bids for the development of the Ariane 6.^[154]

Future projects under development within the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) include the Prometheus reusable engine technology demonstrator, Phoebus (an upgraded second stage for Ariane 6), and Themis (a reusable first stage).^[155][156]

At the time the ESA was formed, its main goals did not encompass human space flight; rather it considered itself to be primarily a scientific research organisation for uncrewed space exploration in contrast to its American and Soviet counterparts. It is therefore not surprising that the first non-Soviet European in space was not an ESA astronaut on a European space craft; it was Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek who in 1978 became the first non-Soviet or American in space (the first man in space being Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union) – on a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, followed by the Pole Mirosław Hermaszewski and East German Sigmund Jähn in the same year. This Soviet co-operation programme, known as Intercosmos, primarily involved the participation of Eastern bloc countries. In 1982, however, Jean-Loup Chrétien became the first non-Communist Bloc astronaut on a flight to the Soviet Salyut 7 space station.

Because Chrétien did not officially fly into space as an ESA astronaut, but rather as a member of the French CNES astronaut corps, the German Ulf Merbold is considered the first ESA astronaut to fly into space. He participated in the STS-9 Space Shuttle mission that included the first use of the European-built Spacelab in 1983. STS-9 marked the beginning of an extensive ESA/NASA joint partnership that included dozens of space flights of ESA astronauts in the following years. Some of these missions with Spacelab were fully funded and organisationally and scientifically controlled by the ESA (such as two missions by Germany and one by Japan) with European astronauts as full crew members rather than guests on board. Beside paying for Spacelab flights and seats on the shuttles, the ESA continued its human space flight co-operation with the Soviet Union and later Russia, including numerous visits to Mir.

During the latter half of the 1980s, European human space flights changed from being the exception to routine and therefore, in 1990, the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany was established. It selects and trains prospective astronauts and is responsible for the co-ordination with international partners, especially with regard to the International Space Station. As of 2006, the ESA astronaut corps officially included twelve members, including nationals from most large European countries except the United Kingdom.

In 2008, the ESA started to recruit new astronauts so that final selection would be due in spring 2009. Almost 10,000 people registered as astronaut candidates before registration ended in June 2008. 8,413 fulfilled the initial application criteria. Of the applicants, 918 were chosen to take part in the first stage of psychological testing, which narrowed down the field to 192. After two-stage psychological tests and medical evaluation in early 2009, as well as formal interviews, six new members of the European Astronaut Corps were selected – five men and one woman.^[157]

In the 1980s, France pressed for an independent European crew launch vehicle. Around 1978, it was decided to pursue a reusable spacecraft model and starting in November 1987 a project to create a mini-shuttle by the name of Hermes was introduced. The craft was comparable to early proposals for the Space Shuttle and consisted of a small reusable spaceship that would carry 3 to 5 astronauts and 3 to 4 metric tons of payload for scientific experiments. With a total maximum weight of 21 metric tons it would have been launched on the Ariane 5 rocket, which was being developed at that time. It was planned solely for use in low Earth orbit space flights. The planning and pre-development phase concluded in 1991; the production phase was never fully implemented because at that time the political landscape had changed significantly. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the ESA looked forward to co-operation with Russia to build a next-generation space vehicle. Thus the Hermes programme was cancelled in 1995 after about 3 billion dollars had been spent. The Columbus space station programme had a similar fate.

In the 21st century, ESA started new programmes to create its own crew vehicles, most notable among its various projects and proposals is Hopper, whose prototype by EADS, called Phoenix, has already been tested. While projects such as Hopper are neither concrete nor to be realised within the next decade, other possibilities for human spaceflight in co-operation with the Russian Space Agency have emerged. Following talks with the Russian Space Agency in 2004 and June 2005,^[158] a co-operation between the ESA and the Russian Space Agency was announced to jointly work on the Russian-designed Kliper, a reusable spacecraft that would be available for space travel beyond LEO (e.g. the moon or even Mars). It was speculated that Europe would finance part of it. A€50 million participation study for Kliper, which was expected to be approved in December 2005, was finally not approved by ESA member states. The Russian state tender for the project was subsequently cancelled in 2006.

In June 2006, ESA member states granted 15 million to the Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS) study, a two-year study to design a spacecraft capable of going beyond Low-Earth orbit based on the current Soyuz design. This project was pursued with Roskosmos instead of the cancelled Kliper proposal. A decision on the actual implementation and construction of the CSTS spacecraft was contemplated for 2008. In mid-2009 EADS Astrium was awarded a €21 million study into designing a crew vehicle based on the European ATV which was believed to be the basis of the Advanced Crew Transportation System design.^[159] Neither of these projects was pursued further in the 2010s.

In November 2012, ESA decided to join NASA's Orion programme. The ATV would form the basis of the European Service Module (ESM) for NASA's new crewed spacecraft. ESA may also seek to work with NASA on Orion's launch system as well to secure a seat on the spacecraft for its own astronauts.^[160] The comoplete Orion with ESM flew on its first mission to Lunar orbit in 2022.^[161]

In September 2014, the ESA signed an agreement with Sierra Nevada Corporation for co-operation in Dream Chaser project. Further studies on the Dream Chaser for European Use or DC4EU project were funded, including the feasibility of launching a Europeanised Dream Chaser onboard Ariane 5.^[162][163]

With regard to the International Space Station (ISS), the ESA is not represented by all of its member states:^[164] 11 of the 22 ESA member states currently participate in the project: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Austria, Finland and Ireland chose not to participate, because of lack of interest or concerns about the expense of the project. Portugal, Luxembourg, Greece, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Estonia and Hungary joined ESA after the agreement had been signed.

The ESA takes part in the construction and operation of the ISS, with contributions such as Columbus, a science laboratory module that was brought into orbit by NASA's STS-122 Space Shuttle mission, and the Cupola observatory module that was completed in July 2005 by Alenia Spazio for the ESA. The current estimates for the ISS are approaching €100 billion in total (development, construction and 10 years of maintaining the station) of which the ESA has committed to paying €8 billion.^[165] About 90% of the costs of the ESA's ISS share will be contributed by Germany (41%), France (28%) and Italy (20%). German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter was the first long-term ISS crew member.

The ESA has developed the Automated Transfer Vehicle for ISS resupply. Each ATV has a cargo capacity of 7,667 kilograms (16,903 lb).^[166] The first ATV, Jules Verne, was launched on 9 March 2008 and on 3 April 2008 successfully docked with the ISS. This manoeuvre, considered a major technical feat, involved using automated systems to allow the ATV to track the ISS, moving at 27,000 km/h, and attach itself with an accuracy of 2 cm. Five vehicles were launched before the program ended with the launch of the fifth ATV, Georges Lemaître, in 2014.^[167]

As of 2020, the spacecraft establishing supply links to the ISS are the Russian Progress and Soyuz, Japanese Kounotori (HTV), and the United States vehicles Cargo Dragon 2 and Cygnus stemmed from the Commercial Resupply Services program.

European Life and Physical Sciences research on board the International Space Station (ISS) is mainly based on the European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences in Space programme that was initiated in 2001.

Since 2015, ESA has launched numerous CubeSat-type small satellites supported through various programmes:^[168][169]

GSTP also supports other non-CubeSat small satellite missions, e.g. the PROBA series.^[170]

• GOMX-3, launched in 2015
• GOMX-4B, launched in 2018
• QARMAN, launched in 2019
• OPS-SAT, launched in 2019
• SIMBA, launched in 2020
• PICASSO, launched in 2020
• RadCube, launched in 2021
• Sunstorm, launched in 2021
• PRETTY, launched in 2023
• PROBA-V CubeSat Companion, launched in 2023
• GENA-OT, launching in 2025
• CubeSpec, launching in 2026
• SROC, launching in 2026
• GOMX-5, launching in 2026
• HENON, launching in 2026
• e.Inspector, launching in 2027
• Vulcain, launching in 2027
• LUMIO, launching in 2027
• M-ARGO, launching in 2027

• Phi-Sat-1, launched in 2020^[171]
• Phi-Sat-2, launched in 2024^[171]

The InCubed co-funding programme, managed by ESA's Φ-lab, supports innovative technologies for Earth observation satellities.^{[172][173][174]}

• Mantis, launched in 2023^[175][176]
• Intuition-1, launched in 2023^[175]
• AIX, launched in 2025^[177][178]
• Forest-3, launched in 2025^[177][178]
• Sky-Bee-1, part of the Hive constellation, launched in 2025^[177][178]

• Juventas and Milani, launched in 2024 together with Hera
• Satis, launching in 2028

• VMMO, launching in 2028

IOD/IOV is a European Union programme entrusted to ESA.^{[179][180][181]}

• CASSINI IHE1-1^[182]
• IHE-1-4^[183]
• IHE1-5^[179]

The ESA has signed co-operation agreements with the following states that currently neither plan to integrate as tightly with ESA institutions as Canada, nor envision future membership of the ESA: Argentina,^[184] Brazil,^[185] China,^[186] India,^[187] Russia,^[188] and Turkey.^[139] Additionally, the ESA has joint projects with the EUSPA of the European Union, NASA of the United States and is participating in the International Space Station together with the United States (NASA), Russia, and Japan (JAXA).

• The Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) (National Centre for Space Study) is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public establishment of industrial and commercial character"). Its headquarters are in central Paris. CNES is the main participant on the Ariane project. Indeed, CNES designed and tested all Ariane family rockets (mainly from its centre in Évry near Paris)
• The UK Space Agency is a partnership of the UK government departments which are active in space. Through the UK Space Agency, the partners provide delegates to represent the UK on the various ESA governing bodies. Each partner funds its own programme.
• The Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana or ASI) was founded in 1988 to promote, co-ordinate and conduct space activities in Italy. Operating under the Ministry of the Universities and of Scientific and Technological Research, the agency cooperates with numerous entities active in space technology and with the president of the Council of Ministers. Internationally, the ASI provides Italy's delegation to the Council of the European Space Agency and to its subordinate bodies.
• The German Aerospace Center (DLR) (German: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V.) is the national research centre for aviation and space flight of the Federal Republic of Germany and of other member states in the Helmholtz Association. Its extensive research and development projects are included in national and international cooperative programmes. In addition to its research projects, the centre is the assigned space agency of Germany bestowing headquarters of German space flight activities and its associates.
• The Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) (National Institute for Aerospace Technique) is a Public Research Organisation specialised in aerospace research and technology development in Spain. Among other functions, it serves as a platform for space research and acts as a significant testing facility for the aeronautic and space sector in the country.

The ESA has a long history of collaboration with NASA. Since ESA's astronaut corps was formed, the Space Shuttle has been the primary launch vehicle used by the ESA's astronauts to get into space through partnership programmes with NASA. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Spacelab programme was an ESA-NASA joint research programme that had the ESA develop and manufacture orbital labs for the Space Shuttle for several flights in which the ESA participates with astronauts in experiments.

In robotic science mission and exploration missions, NASA has been the ESA's main partner. Cassini–Huygens was a joint NASA-ESA mission, along with the Infrared Space Observatory, INTEGRAL, SOHO, and others. Also, the Hubble Space Telescope is a joint project of NASA and the ESA. Future ESA-NASA joint projects include the James Webb Space Telescope and the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.^{[citation needed]} NASA has supported the ESA's MarcoPolo-R mission which landed on asteroid Bennu in October 2020 and is scheduled to return a sample to Earth for further analysis in 2023.^[189] NASA and the ESA will also likely join for a Mars sample-return mission.^[190] In October 2020, the ESA entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NASA to work together on the Artemis program, which will provide an orbiting Lunar Gateway and also accomplish the first crewed lunar landing in 50 years, whose team will include the first woman on the Moon. Astronaut selection announcements are expected within two years of the 2024 scheduled launch date.^[191] ESA also purchases seats on the NASA operated Commercial Crew Program. The first ESA astronaut to be on a Commercial Crew Program mission is Thomas Pesquet. Pesquet launched into space aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour on the Crew-2 mission. The ESA also has seats on Crew-3 with Matthias Maurer and Crew-4 with Samantha Cristoforetti.

ESA and the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) have engaged in long-standing collaboration in various domains of space exploration, satellite technology, space science, and human spaceflight. Their partnership has evolved over the decades, focusing on joint missions, technology sharing, and international cooperation in space exploration.^[192] Some of the programs include BepiColombo Mission, EarthCARE and Comet Interceptor.^[193][194]

In 2004 ESA entered into a major collaboration with the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) in the form of the CSTS, the preparation of French Guiana spaceport for launches of Soyuz-2 rockets, the Schiaparelli demonstration lander and the Trace Gas Orbiter.^[195][196] In 2022, all collaboration with the Russian Space Agency was terminated after Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[197]

Since China has invested more money into space activities, the Chinese Space Agency (CNSA) has sought international partnerships. ESA is one of its most important partners. Both space agencies cooperated in the development of the Double Star Mission.^[198] In 2017, the ESA sent two astronauts to China for two weeks sea survival training with Chinese astronauts in Yantai, Shandong.^[199] In 2024, the Einstein Probe was launched.^[200] In 2025 the SMILE mission will image for the first time the magnetosphere of the Sun in soft X-rays and UV during up to 40 hours per orbit.^[201]

With India, the ESA agreed to send instruments into space aboard the Indian Space Agency (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.^[202]

In 2023, following the successful launch of the Euclid telescope in July on a Falcon 9 rocket, the ESA approached SpaceX to launch four Galileo communication satellites on two Falcon 9 rockets in 2024; however, it would require approval from the European Commission and all member states of the European Union to proceed.^[203]

The ESA is an independent space agency and not under the jurisdiction of the European Union, although they have common goals, share funding, and work together often.^[204] The initial aim of the European Union (EU) was to make the European Space Agency an agency of the EU by 2014.^[205] While the EU and its member states fund together 86% of the budget of the ESA, it is not an EU agency. Furthermore, the ESA has several non-EU members, most notably the United Kingdom which left the EU while remaining a full member of the ESA. The ESA is partnered with the EU on its two current flagship space programmes, the Copernicus series of Earth observation satellites and the Galileo satellite navigation system, with the ESA providing technical oversight and, in the case of Copernicus, some of the funding.^[206] The EU, though, has shown an interest in expanding into new areas, whence the proposal to rename and expand its satellite navigation agency (the European GNSS Agency) into the EU Agency for the Space Programme. The proposal drew strong criticism from the ESA, as it was perceived as encroaching on the ESA's turf.^[206]

In January 2021, after years of acrimonious relations, EU and ESA officials mended their relationship, with the EU Internal Market commissioner Thierry Breton saying "The European space policy will continue to rely on the ESA and its unique technical, engineering and science expertise," and that the "ESA will continue to be the European agency for space matters.^[206] If we are to be successful in our European strategy for space, and we will be, I will need the ESA by my side." ESA director Aschbacher reciprocated, saying "I would really like to make the ESA the main agency, the go-to agency of the European Commission for all its flagship programmes." The ESA and EUSPA are now seen to have distinct roles and competencies, which will be officialised in the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA).^[206] Whereas the ESA's focus will be on the technical elements of the EU space programmes, the EUSPA will handle the operational elements of those programmes.^[206]

As of 2023, Many other facilities are operated by national space agencies in close collaboration with the ESA. The ESA employs around 2,547 people, and thousands of contractors. Initially, new employees are contracted for an expandable four-year term, which is until the organisation's retirement age of 63. According to the ESA's documents, the staff can receive myriad of perks, such as financial childcare support, retirement plans, and financial help when migrating. The ESA also prevents employees from disclosing any private documents or correspondences to outside parties. Ars Technica's 2023 report, which contained testimonies of 18 people, suggested that there is a widespread harassment between management and its employees, especially with its contractors. Since the ESA is an international organisation, unaffiliated with any single nation, any form of legal action is difficult to raise against the organisation.^[207]

On 3 August 1984, the ESA's Paris headquarters were severely damaged and six people were hurt when a bomb exploded. It was planted by the far-left armed Action Directe group.^[208]

On 14 December 2015, hackers from Anonymous breached the ESA's subdomains and leaked thousands of login credentials.^[209]

• European integration § Space
• European Space Security and Education Centre
• Eurospace
• List of European Space Agency programmes and missions
• List of government space agencies
• SEDS
• Space Night

• Agencies of the European Union
• Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space
• Enhanced co-operation
• European Union Agency for the Space Programme