2021 promises a to be a fruitful year for ESA and European space industry.
This year will see the launch of a new and innovative telecommunications satellite
called Quantum.
Developed through a public-private partnership with Eutelsat,
Quantum is the first satellite that can be reprogrammed in orbit
for maximum flexibility.
Another first in 2021 will be the maiden flight of Vega-C.
This new iteration of the Vega launcher is more powerful
and allows for larger and heavier payloads than the current Vega
with which it will share a launchpad.
Vega-C’s first stage motor
will also be used as a strap-on booster for Europe’s new heavy-lift launcher
Ariane 6.
The development of Ariane 6 will continue in 2021
working towards the launcher’s inaugural flight in 2022.
Through clever design
both Vega-C and Ariane 6
will be cost-efficient and reliable launch vehicles
ready to compete in the worldwide launcher market,
confirming Europe as a frontrunner in spaceflight
while also securing independent access to space for Europe.
Exciting news for Galileo,
Europe’s global satellite navigation system:
in January the contract for the development of the
second-generation Galileo satellites will be signed.
Europe will also launch two first generation Galileo satellites on a Soyuz
from Kourou in 2021.
These satellites are set to serve as back-ups
or replacements for the oldest Galileo satellites.
As humankind continues to face the challenge of climate change and our impact on the environment
Earth observation continues to be a cornerstone of ESA’s activities.
The Agency will carry on operating 16 Earth observation satellites monitoring our planet.
Through these programmes
over 250 terabytes of data are distributed to users across the globe
for scientific and operational purposes.
In the coming year
ESA and the European Commission
will also decide on the expansion Europe’s successful
Copernicus Earth Observation programme.
In 2021 two ESA astronauts will launch to the International Space Station.
Thomas Pesquet will start his second long-duration mission in Spring.
His mission is called Alpha after Alpha Centauri,
the closest stellar system to Earth,
following the French tradition to name space missions after stars or constellations.
In Autumn German astronaut Matthias Maurer will fly to the Space Station
for his first mission called Cosmic Kiss,
which represents the love of space.
Matthias was the most recent astronaut to join the ESA astronaut corps
and finished basic training in 2018.
In 2021 ESA will start recruitment to find suitable candidates for a new astronaut class.
Aboard the ISS
both Thomas and Matthias will spend a lot of time in the European Columbus laboratory
performing hundreds of experiments in zero gravity.
ESA will continue to collaborate with NASA in human spaceflight
with the ongoing development of NASA’s Artemis-1 mission.
The Artemis-1 mission will see the first flight of the new Orion capsule
with ESA’s European Service Module, ESM.
The Orion spacecraft and ESM will become vital for human spaceflight
as they will fly astronauts to the future lunar orbiting Gateway,
in which ESA is one of the contributing partners,
but also to the Moon or even to Mars.
While it might be a while before humans set foot on it,
the exploration of the red planet presses forward with the continued development of ExoMars,
ESA’s Mars lander and rover
scheduled for launch in 2022
and the Mars Sample Return mission
in collaboration with NASA
that aims to retrieve samples from our neighbouring planet.
A lot farther into space
ESA spacecraft BepiColombo and Solar Orbiter
will perform a near-simultaneous flyby of Venus in August.
It will be the second flyby of the hottest planet in our solar system for both spacecraft.
BepiColombo is on a 7-year journey to Mercury
and Solar Orbiter will be the first spacecraft to study the poles of our sun.
Science will also see the launch of James Webb Space Telescope
on top of an Ariane 5 from Kourou.
This infrared telescope will study every phase in the history of our Universe,
ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang,
to the formation of solar systems
capable of supporting life on planets like Earth.
Closer to home, ESA’s Flyeye telescope will be tested and validated
at Matera Space Centre in Italy.
This telescope has been specially designed to scan the heavens for near-Earth objects
such as asteroids,
which could potentially be a threat to our planet.
June 2021 will mark the end an era
when current ESA Director General Jan Wörner’s tenure ends.
Jan became ESA Director General in July 2015,
at the time he was the head of the German space agency DLR.
With Jan as Director General
ESA saw a number of achievements
like securing a record budget at the Space 19+ summit in Seville, Spain.
And a renaissance in Europe’s space industry
due in large part to Jan’s insistence
that the private sector should play a larger part in Europe’s space ambitions.
Now it will be up to a new Director General
Josef Aschbacher
and a younger generation
to take over
and lead the European Space Agency into the future.