European Space History

The nearby G-type star 51 Pegasi.

World-renowned Swiss astronomers Didier Queloz and Michel Mayor of the Geneva Observatory are seen here in front of ESO’s 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile. The telescope hosts HARPS, the world’s leading exoplanet hunter (pic: L. Weinstein/Ciel et Espace Photos)

#OTD 3️⃣0️⃣ years ago, 6 October 1995, Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz announced the discovery of the first exoplanet seen orbiting a Sun-like star (51 Pegasi b, a massive 'hot Jupiter' type). This earned them the Nobel Prize in physics 🧪🔭 #SpaceHistory

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/51_Pega...

Ulysses drifts serenely above Earth in the moments after deployment on 6 October 1990, 25 years ago, this week. Shortly after this image was taken, the attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) and Payload Assist Module (PAM)-S boosters would propel the craft faster than any previous man-made object out of Earth’s gravitational clutches (pic:NASA)

Great article on the ESA/NASA #Ulysses mission: a two-piece write-up for the 25th anniversary by @americaspace.bsky.social

www.americaspace.com/2015/10/10/m...

YouTube video by European Space Agency, ESA The Ulysses Legacy: Observing the Sun for 17 years

ESA/NASA #Ulysses was designed to last for five years but the mission was extended four times, allowing Ulysses to pass over the Sun's poles for a second and third time, and spending more than 17 years in space #SpaceHistory

YouTube video by NASA STI Program STS-41 Mission Highlights Resource Tape

#ICYMI 😉 Check out the launch highlights and coverage of ESA/NASA #Ulysses deployment #OTD 6 October 1990👇

Artist impression of Ulysses at Jupiter. To reach its final polar orbit around the Sun, chosen in order to chart the heliosphere at all solar latitudes, Ulysses needed a gravitational pull from Jupiter. This gravity-assist manoeuvre took place on 8 February 1992

During its 17.5 years in space, ESA/NASA #Ulysses rewarded scientists with an unprecedented depth and breadth of its results, not just about the Sun and its influence, but also with surprising insights into the nature of our galaxy and the Universe 🧪 🔭

www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @science.esa.int

Launch of white Space Shuttle on dark orange external tank, STS-41 lifts off into a blue sky, October 1990

#ThisWeek 3️⃣5️⃣ years ago: 6 October 1990, the joint ESA/NASA #Ulysses spacecraft was launched by the US Space Shuttle STS-41 mission. Ulysses was the first mission to study the environment above and below the poles of the Sun.

www.esa.int/Our_Activiti...

Hera’s first year in space

Happy launch anniversary to ESA's Hera mission! 🎂🥳

One year ago ESA's first planetary defence mission was stranded on Earth, its launcher grounded, as a hurricane closed in on its launch site. What a difference a year makes! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

ESA astronaut André Kuipers plays with a drop of water on the International Space Station during his 2012 six-month Promisse mission.

🥳 #HappyBirthday to @esa.int astronaut André Kuipers (5 October)! André flew on Soyuz TMA-4 in 2004 and Soyuz TMA-03M in 2011 to the International Space Station.

www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @aseastronauts.bsky.social @nasaspaceflight.com @nl.esa.int

#OTD sixty years ago! 4 October 1965, US astronaut John Glenn visits Germany on a tour of Europe; at a major transport exhibition in Munich, he is awarded a medal by German aviation pioneer Wolfgang von Gronau (pic:ANP)

Thomas Pesquet and his fellow astronaut Aki Hoshide in the Japanese Kibo module on the International Space Station. They are facing the camera with their arms folded, Thomas is wearing the shirt of the French international rugby team. Aki is wearing the shirt of the Japanese international rugby team

#OTD 4 October 2021 @esa.int's Thomas Pesquet @thom-astro.bsky.social 🇫🇷 became the first French and fourth European commander of the ISS when he took over from JAXA's Aki Hoshide during Expedition 65.

www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @exploration.esa.int @fr.esa.int #SpaceHistory

Ulf Merbold during EuroMir '94

Yelena Kondakova, Alexander Viktorenko and Ulf Merbold during remaining

Ulf Merbold was a veteran of two US Space Shuttle missions and the first ESA astronaut to fly in a Soyuz.

@esa.int @exploration.esa.int @dlr-de.bsky.social @de.esa.int

Ulf Merbold on EuroMir '94 launch day.

Soyuz TM-20 launch, 3 October 1994

Resident Mir and Soyuz TM-20 crews: Valeri Polyakov, Talgat Musabayev, Ulf Merbold, Alexander Viktorenko, Yelena Kondakova and Yuri Malenchenko.

#OTD 3 October 1994, German ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold flew on Soyuz TM-20 to the Mir space station. His month-long EuroMir '94 mission was considered a precursor to the ESA Columbus module project planned for the future International Space Station.

www.esa.int/Science_Expl... #SpaceHistory

A chronology of Europeans walking in space Over half a century ago, Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to leave the relative safety of his spacecraft - and in doing so paved the way for generations of explorers to venture ...

Published! Our first article on Substack!

Launched on 2 October 1991, Soyuz TM-13 carried Austrian research cosmonaut Franz Viehböck, Kazakh cosmonaut Toktar Aubakirov and veteran Russian cosmonaut Alexander Volkov.

Franz Viehböck on the Mir space station

#ThisWeek in 1991! On 2 October, Franz Viehböck became Austria's first astronaut. He was launched on Soyuz TM-13 to the Mir space station with colleagues Toktar Aubakirov and Alexander Volkov, returning on Soyuz TM-12 after just over a week in space.

@aseastronauts.bsky.social @fwf-at.bsky.social

The Scout rocket with the ESRO-1B spacecraft in launch position, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (pic: NASA)

#OTD: 1 October 1969, ESRO-1B was launched on a Scout rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (the fourth #ESRO satellite to be successfully launched). ESRO-1A and -1B were designed to study how the auroral zones responded to geomagnetic and solar activity.

www.esa.int/About_Us/50_...

Using the CIVA camera on Rosetta’s Philae lander, the spacecraft have snapped a ‘selfie’ at comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The image was taken on 7 September from a distance of about 50 km from the comet, and captures the side of the Rosetta spacecraft and one of Rosetta’s 14 m-long solar wings, with 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the background. Two images with different exposure times were combined to bring out the faint details in this very high contrast situation.

#50YearsOfESA

#2014

In 2014, ESA's #Rosetta mission achieved two historic milestones: in August, it became the first spacecraft to orbit a comet (Comet 67P) and in November, its Philae lander became the first probe to make a controlled landing on a comet's surface🧪🔭

www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

#50YearsOfESA

#2013

Acquired by ESA’s Planck mission, the most detailed map to date of the Cosmic Microwave Background (relic radiation from the 'Big Bang') was released on 21 March 2013, revealing features that challenged our current understanding of the Universe🧪🔭

www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

ESA Explores podcast Tune into the sounds of space and other out of this world recordings with ESA Explores, an official ESA podcast. Meet the space makers as we journey across Europe and into the cosmos to build a future...

🎙️🌍 Happy #InternationalPodcastDay! 🌍🎙️

Celebrate with our @esa.int Explores podcast — your audio gateway to Europe’s space story 🚀✨

🎧 Listen now on your favourite podcast platform: esa.int/About_Us/EAC...
📺 Or watch our video podcast episodes: youtube.com/@EuropeanSpa...

Cover of ESA brochure F2/F3 Mission Summaries, BR-164, August 2000

Cover of ESA brochure, A Spanish Window on the Universe, BR-081/EN, 1987

Whether your interests are technical (ESA Journal, ESA SPs), about outreach or communications (Annual Reports, press releases and brochures) or programmatic (Ariane press kits, Earth Observation Quarterly and On Station magazines), we guarantee inspiration for your future endeavours from the past!

Cover of ESA brochure To Last a Lifetime, BR-146, April 2000

Cover of ESA brochure Success Story: 30 discoveries from ESA's Science missions in space, BR-147, April 1999

New projects for the next academic year? Find out how #ESAarchives can facilitate your research with nearly a dozen collections of ESA’s historical publications, from the 1960s to the 2000s, opened since 2023.

The latest additions opened today👇

historicalarchives.esa.int/our-digitise...

YouTube video by European Space Agency, ESA Rosetta’s final images

#OTD: 30 September 2016, ESA's #Rosetta mission ended with the spacecraft landing on #Comet67P️, 12 years after its journey started. This video compilation shows the last images taken during the descent to the comet's surface.

@science.esa.int @cnes.fr @dlr-spaceagency.bsky.social

ESA's 35m deep space antenna at Cebreros, Spain. This station is part of the ESTRACK network (pic: ESA/D.Scuka)

#ThisWeek 2️⃣0️⃣ years ago: 28 September 2005, ESA's then latest deep space antenna was inaugurated at Cebreros, Spain. Built on the site of a former NASA tracking station, the 35 m antenna is part of ESA's worldwide #ESTRACK tracking network.

www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup... @operations.esa.int

One of our fave photos 👍😉

This article, written by the #ESAarchives to celebrate ESRIN's 55th birthday, relives the foundation ceremony – the original programme, maps, speeches, guestbook and photos from the day have all been digitised. 

historicalarchives.esa.int/55-years-esr...

The ESRIN site in 1970

During construction in 1970

The ceremony to lay the cornerstone of the new ESRIN site took place on 27 September 1968. Addresses were given by Prof. Hendrick C. van de Hulst, Chairman of ESRO Council, Hermann Bondi, ESRO Director General, Hermann Jordan, the Director of ESRIN, and Prof. Mario Pedini, Undersecretary of State for Scientific Research in Italy. A blessing was given by the Archbishop of Frascati and a Latin-inscribed scroll was sealed inside the cornerstone.

This weekend in 1968, 27 September, ESA's centre for Earth Observation #ESRIN was founded at Frascati, near Rome. The photographs shows ESRIN under construction in 1970 and the foundation ceremony.

www.esa.int/About_Us/50_...

@ita.esa.int @esaearth.esa.int

Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who took over from fellow Expedition 67 crew member Oleg Artemyev to become commander of the International Space Station. Samantha Cristoforetti She began her Minerva mission in April 2022. On taking up her new role, she became the fifth European commander of the Space Station, following in the footsteps of previous ESA astronauts Frank De Winne, Alexander Gerst, Luca Parmitano and Thomas Pesquet. She was also the first European female to occupy the position.

This weekend in 2022, on 28 September, ESA's Samantha Cristoforetti became the first European female (and fifth European) to command a #SpaceStation expedition during her 170-day #Minerva mission.

www.esa.int/Science_Expl... #SpaceHistory

@exploration.esa.int @ita.esa.int

Vladimir Remek

Dumitru Prunariu

Luca Parmitano

😯 👏 Belated #HappyBirthdays to:

🎂 Vladimír Remek (26 September)
🎂 Luca Parmitano and Dumitru Prunariu (27 September)

Alouette-I was launched from the US Pacific Missile Range at 2:06 a.m. (EST) on Saturday, 29 September 1962 on a two-stage Thor-Agena rocket.

#OTD: 29 September 1962, launch of Alouette-1, #Canada's first satellite and the first satellite designed and built by a country other than the Soviet Union or the USA. Designed to study the ionosphere, it was in service for 10 years.

👉 www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellit...

@cmdr-hadfield.bsky.social

In this photograph NASA Deputy Administrator Dale Myers (on the left) and ESA Director General Reimar Lüst sign the Memorandum of Understanding for Space Station Freedom in Washington DC.

#OTD 29 September 1988, the MoU on cooperation on design and development of Space Station Freedom was signed by @esa.int and NASA (as was the first Intergovernmental Agreement for the Space Station signed by European countries, USA and Canada).

🔗 www.esa.int/esapub/bulle...

@exploration.esa.int

😍 you never know... 🤞😉