OPTIONAL PROGRAMS

ESA and the European Union aim to ensure that Europe has the launchers to meet institutional and commercial demands, and ensuring that Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana remains a byword for excellence and reliability. With the heavy Ariane 5, the medium Soyuz and the small Vega now exploited from Kourou, Europe benefits from a family of launchers that has the capability and flexibility to cover all European government and most commercial market needs, thus further enhancing socio-economic benefits of access to space in Europe.

ESA has been dedicated to observing Earth from space ever since the launch of its first Meteosat meteorological satellite in 1977. Following the success of this first mission, the subsequent series of missions provided a wealth of valuable data about Earth, its climate and changing environment. It is crucial, however, that ESA continues to learn more about our planet if we are to understand the Earth system and its processes, especially within the context of global change. 

ESA's aim is to implement Europe's participation in the development of space infrastructure, such as the International Space Station, which makes it possible to perform experiments in a weightless environment, very different from that we have on Earth. ESA also supports the development of research and technologies in space - on the International Space Station but also on European sounding rockets, parabolic flights as well as drop towers.

Specific programmes Romania is involved in:

Europe has its own Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), composed of the Galileo satellite constellation, currently under deployment, and the regional augmentation system EGNOS, which has been operational since October 2009 all over Europe.

Galileo is a joint initiative between ESA and the European Commission. Galileo’s full operational constellation will consist of 27 operational satellites plus three spares circling Earth in three circular medium-Earth orbits, at an altitude of 23222 km. When fully deployed, it will be the first civilian positioning system to offer global coverage.

Technology development lies at the foundation of everything ESA does. On average, each European citizen invests only €10 per year on space, compared to €100 invested by their US equivalent. The economic impact of space spending is boosted by a multiplier effect: every €1 invested in space returns an average €6 to the wider economy. So space contributes to growth, employment and competitiveness across many economic sectors. 

ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) Programme transforms research and development investment into successful commercial products. This helps to secure the futures of Europe and Canada in the worldwide satcom market.

Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is a coordinated effort to detect and track space objects in orbit around the Earth, as well as monitor natural phenomena that could cause damage to satellites in orbit, to ground-based infrastructure and to people. Under the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Programme, Europe is acquiring the capability to independently watch for objects and natural phenomena that could harm satellites in orbit or infrastructure – such as power grids – on the ground.

PRODEX (PROgramme de Développement d'Expériences scientifiques) is an optional scientific programme established to provide funding for the industrial development of scientific instruments or experiments proposed by institutes or universities, which have been selected by ESA for one of its programmes in the various fields of space research.