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European Space Agency

Inter-governmental space agency operating Earth observation programmes including Sentinel, EarthCARE, and Aeolus.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organisation established on 30 May 1975 under the ESA Convention, formed from the merger of the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) and the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO).[1] Headquartered in Paris with its primary technical centre at ESTEC in Noordwijk (Netherlands) and its Earth observation operations centre at ESRIN in Frascati (Italy), ESA brings together 23 full member states and five associate members as of 2025-2026.[2]

ESA's Earth observation programme operates through four principal lines: the Copernicus programme, the FutureEO programme (Earth Explorers and Scouts), Heritage Missions, and Third Party / Copernicus Contributing Missions.[3] Within Copernicus, Europe's civil Earth observation infrastructure owned and mandated by the European Commission, ESA acts as the Space Segment Development Authority, designing, procuring, launching, and operating the Sentinel satellite family.[4] Sentinel missions span C-band radar (Sentinel-1), multispectral optical (Sentinel-2), ocean-land monitoring (Sentinel-3), and atmospheric monitoring (Sentinel-5P), among others; EUMETSAT co-operates specific missions including the Sentinel-3 marine data stream and Sentinel-6 ocean altimetry.[5] Copernicus data is freely available globally through the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem under an open data policy.[6]

Through the FutureEO programme, ESA funds and operates science-driven Earth Explorer missions selected through community consultation, each addressing a distinct geophysical question. As of 2025-2026, seven Earth Explorers are operational or completed and four are in development or assessment.[7]

ESA does not manufacture satellites itself; industrial development and manufacturing are contracted to European prime contractors including Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space. ESA serves as the system authority, setting requirements, managing integration, and conducting launch and early operations. With a total budget of approximately €8.26 billion for 2026 and a staff of approximately 3,000, ESA is the primary institutional operator of European EO infrastructure and the central counterpart for European EO data policy.[2]

Operates

  • BIOMASSoperational

    launched "2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z" / Sun-synchronous, 666 km, 97.97 degree inclination, dawn-dusk 06:00 LTAN, 3-day near-repeat, 17-day quasi-repeat / 3 day revisit / 50 km swath

  • NanoMagSat

    planned "2027-12-31T00:00:00.000Z" / LEO 545 km, multi-inclination (60 deg x2 + polar x1)

  • Sentinel-1Adegraded

    launched "2014-04-03T00:00:00.000Z" / Sun-synchronous, 693 km, 98.18 degree inclination / 6 day revisit / 6 day paired revisit / 250 km swath

  • Sentinel-1Coperational

    launched "2024-12-05T00:00:00.000Z" / Sun-synchronous, 693 km, polar, 18:00 LTDN (constellation design) / 12 day revisit / 6 day paired revisit / 250 km swath

  • Sentinel-1Doperational

    launched "2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z" / Sun-synchronous, 693 km, polar, 18:00 LTDN (constellation design) / 12 day revisit / 6 day paired revisit / 250 km swath

  • Sentinel-2Aextended

    launched "2015-06-23T00:00:00.000Z" / SSO 786 km, 10:30 LTDN / 10 day revisit / 5 day paired revisit / 290 km swath

  • EarthCARE (Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer)operational

    launched 2024-05-28 / LEO sun-synchronous, 393 km, 97.05 deg inclination

  • ADM-Aeolus (Atmospheric Dynamics Mission)ended

    launched 2018-08-22 / LEO sun-synchronous, 320 km

  • SMOSextended

    launched 2009-11-02 / Sun-synchronous dusk-dawn, 758 km mean altitude, inclination 98.44 degrees, LTAN 06:00, 23-day repeat cycle, 3-day sub-cycle, 100.1-minute period / 3 day revisit / 1050 km swath

  • Swarmextended

    launched 2013-11-22 / High-inclination drifting LEO; two spacecraft began near 460 km with natural decay toward 300 km, and the third began near 530 km.

  • GOCEended

    launched 2009-03-17 / Low Earth orbit gravity mission; drag-free operations at about 254 km before lower-orbit campaign

  • HydroGNSS (ESA Scout)commissioning

    launched 2025-11-28 / SSO 550 km 98-degree inclination

  • Sentinel-5P (Precursor)operational

    launched 2017-10-13 / SSO 824 km 98.74-degree inclination LTAN 13:30h

  • FLEX (FLuorescence EXplorer)planned

    planned 2026-09-01 / LEO SSO 815 km / 27 day revisit / 150 km swath

  • Heraoperational

    launched 2024-10-07

  • RAMSESplanned

    planned 2028-04-01

  • Sentinel-3Aextended

    launched 2016-02-16 / Near-polar sun-synchronous orbit, 814.5 km reference altitude, 98.65 degree inclination, 10:00 descending node / 2 day paired revisit / 1270 km swath

  • Sentinel-2Bextended

    launched 2017-03-07 / SSO 786 km, 10:30 LTDN / 10 day revisit / 5 day paired revisit / 290 km swath

  • Sentinel-2Coperational

    launched 2024-09-05 / SSO 786 km, 10:30 LTDN / 10 day revisit / 5 day paired revisit / 290 km swath

  • CryoSat-2extended

    launched 2010-04-08 / Low-Earth non-sun-synchronous drifting orbit, 717 km altitude, 92 deg inclination

Manufactures

Sensors
Components

Distributes

Sources
Cite https://eo-atlas.org/companies/esa Markdown twin → Field definitions →