General information
The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe?s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe?s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA is an international organisation with 17 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.
ESA?s job is to draw up the European space programme and carry it through. ESA's programmes are designed to find out more about Earth, its immediate space environment, our Solar System and the Universe, as well as to develop satellite-based technologies and services, and to promote European industries. ESA also works closely with space organisations outside Europe.
Where is ESA located?
- ESA's headquarters are in Paris which is where policies and programmes are decided. ESA also has centres in a number of European countries, each of which has different responsibilities:
- EAC, the European Astronauts Centre in Cologne, Germany;
- ESAC, the European Space Astronomy Centre, in Villafranca del Castillo, Madrid, Spain;
- ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany;
- ESRIN, the ESA centre for Earth Observation, in Frascati, near Rome, Italy;
- ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
- ESA also has liaison offices in Belgium, USA and Russia; a launch base in French Guiana and ground/tracking stations in various parts of the world.
Where do ESA's funds come from?
ESA?s mandatory activities (space science programmes and the general budget) are funded by a financial contribution from all the Agency?s Member States, calculated in accordance with each country?s gross national product. In addition, ESA conducts a number of optional programmes. Each Member State decides in which optional programme they wish to participate and the amount they wish to contribute.
How big is ESA's budget?
ESA's budget for 2006 is an estimated ?2904 million. The agency operates on the basis of geographical return, i.e. it invests in each Member State, through industrial contracts for space programmes, an amount more or less equivalent to each country?s contribution.
How much does each European spend on ESA?
European per capita investment in space is very little. On average, every citizen of an ESA Member State pays, in taxes for expenditure on space, about the same as the price of a cinema ticket (in USA, investment in civilian space activities is almost four times as much).
Find more about ESA on their homepage homepage.
ESA Education offers many opportunities of projects (satellite design, parabolic flights experiments, payloads, etc.) and educational material for students. Have a look at ESA Education?s website.
Detailed company profile
Basic Information:
Department/Office: ESA Education Office
Email address:
education@esa.int
Company Homepage:
http://www.esa.int
Company's Countries
Austria,
Belgium,
Denmark,
Finland,
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Ireland,
Italy,
Luxembourg,
Netherlands,
Norway,
Portugal,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland,
United Kingdom
Company's activity fields
Aeronautics and Space
Figures:
Number of countries where the company is present in Europe: 17
More details about the company's activities:
ESA is composed of 17 Member States, and several Cooperating States (Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Canada).
A short profile of the company culture:
International collaboration in a multi-cultural environment is the heart of ESA. Success and innovation are the natural by-product of our every-day activities. Because of this, those working for ESA help to keep Europe at the leading edge of space science applications and research.
Profile of the engineers and professionals the company is looking for:
ESA requires people with skills and expertise from all disciplines and in a multitude of subjects, to collaborate in a fast paced international environment.
Typical career for hired engineers:
For morre information on ESA career paths please go to the ESA Careers website at www.esa.int/careers.
International mobility policy:
The most important ESA Establishments are located in:
- the Netherlands (ESTEC),
- France (ESA Headquarters),
- Germany (ESOC and EAC),
- Italy (ESRIN),
- Spain (ESAC).
Recruitment procedure:
For information about careers at ESA, please refer to ESA's website: www.esa.int, and click 'Careers' in the right hand menu.
Pay special attention to the YGT opportunities, especially designed for young professionals.
Internal training's policy:
ESA offers a special 1 year long programme for graduates: the Young Graduate Traineeship. Many different profiles are looked for, Engineering, Sciences, Business & Administration, Law, etc. Depending on the task concerned, the duty stations are different ESA Establishments.
Additional information:
ESA's purpose 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:
? By elaborating and implementing a long-term European space policy, by recommending space objectives to the Member States, and by concerting the policies of the Member States with respect to other national and international organisations and institutions;
? By elaborating and implementing activities and programmes in the space field;
? By coordinating the European space programme and national programmes, and by integrating the latter progressively and as completely as possible into the European space programme, in particular as regards the development of applications satellites;
? By elaborating and implementing the industrial policy appropriate to its programme and by recommending a coherent industrial policy to the Member States.
