Launchers Ariane is a series of a European civilian
expendable launch vehicles for space launch operated from 1973 onwards. It is a collaboration between France, Germany and the UK. The Ariane project was code-named L3S (the French abbreviation for third-generation substitution launcher). The
European Space Agency (ESA) charged the EADS subsidiary
Astrium, presently Airbus Defence and Space, with the development of all Ariane launchers and of the testing facilities, while
Arianespace, a 32.5%
CNES commercial subsidiary created in 1980, handles production, operations and marketing. Arianespace launches Ariane rockets from the
Guiana Space Centre at
Kourou in
French Guiana.
Ariane 5 completed its 74th consecutive successful mission in October 2016.
International Space Station Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle (ATV), was an expendable
cargo spacecraft developed by the
European Space Agency (ESA). ATVs supplied the
International Space Station (ISS) with propellant, water, air, payloads, and experiments. ATVs also
reboosted the station into a higher
orbit.
Columbus is a science laboratory that is part of the
International Space Station (ISS) and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA). The functional architecture (including software) of the lab was designed by Airbus Defence and Space in
Bremen,
Germany where it was also integrated before being flown to the
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in
Florida in an
Airbus Beluga. It was launched aboard
Space Shuttle Atlantis on 7 February 2008 on flight
STS-122.
Space transportation The
Orion service module is the
service module component of the
Orion spacecraft, serving as its primary power and propulsion component until it is discarded at the end of each mission. In January 2013,
NASA announced that the
European Space Agency (ESA) will construct the service module for
Artemis 1, replacing the previous design. Based on ESA's
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), the new design is also known as the European service module (ESM). The service module supports the crew module from launch through separation prior to reentry. It provides in-space propulsion capability for orbital transfer, attitude control, and high-altitude ascent aborts. It provides the water and oxygen needed for a habitable environment, generates and stores electrical power, and maintains the temperature of the vehicle's systems and components. This module can also transport unpressurized cargo and scientific payloads.
Astronomy and cosmology missions Euclid (developed jointly with
Thales Alenia Space) is a space mission currently under development by the
European Space Agency (ESA). The objective of Euclid is to better understand
dark energy and
dark matter by accurately measuring the
acceleration of the universe. To achieve this, the spacecraft will measure the
redshift of galaxies at varying distances from Earth and investigate the relationship between distance and redshift.
LISA Pathfinder, formerly Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-2 (SMART-2), is an
ESA spacecraft that was launched on 3 December 2015. The mission will test technologies needed for the
Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA), an ESA
gravitational wave observatory planned to be launched in 2034. The scientific phase started on 8 March 2016 and will last 6 months.
Gaia is a
space observatory of the
European Space Agency (ESA) designed for
astrometry. The mission aims to construct the largest and most precise 3D space catalog ever made and totaling approximately 1 billion
astronomical objects, mainly stars but also planets, comets, asteroids and quasars among others.
Solar observation missions Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a
Sun-observing
satellite, developed by the
European Space Agency (ESA). The mission was launched with an
Atlas V from the Cape Canaveral AFS in
Florida at 5:03
Central European Time (CET) on 10 February 2020. SolO is intended to perform detailed measurements of the inner
heliosphere and nascent
solar wind, and perform close observations of the polar regions of the Sun, which is difficult to do from
Earth, both serving to answer the question 'How does the Sun create and control the heliosphere?' The Solar Orbiter will make observations of the Sun from an eccentric orbit moving as close as ~60
solar radii (RS), or 0.284
astronomical units (AU), placing it inside
Mercury's perihelion of 0.3075 AU and providing it with the closest ever views of the Sun.
Planetary science missions The
ExoMars rover is a planned robotic
Mars rover, part of the international
ExoMars programme led by the
European Space Agency and the Russian
Roscosmos State Corporation. The plan calls for a Russian launch vehicle, an ESA carrier module and a
Russian lander that will deploy the rover to Mars's surface. The
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, launched in 2016, will operate as the rover's data-relay satellite. The spacecraft was scheduled to launch in July 2020.
BepiColombo is a joint mission of the
European Space Agency (ESA) and the
Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet
Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites which were launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). The mission will perform a comprehensive study on Mercury, including its
magnetic field,
magnetosphere, interior structure and surface. The launch on an
Ariane 5 took place on 20 October 2018. The mission was approved in February 2007 as part of the
Cosmic Vision programme.
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is an active
European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft designed by Airbus Defence and Space to visit the
Jovian system, focused on studying three of Jupiter's
Galilean moons:
Ganymede,
Callisto, and
Europa (excluding the more volcanically active
Io). It will characterize these three worlds, all of which are thought to have significant bodies of liquid water beneath their surfaces, making them
potentially habitable environments. The selection of this mission for the L1 launch slot of ESA's
Cosmic Vision science programme was announced on 2 May 2012. It is currently in its cruise phase.
Venus Express was the first
Venus exploration mission of the
European Space Agency (ESA). Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and began continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. Equipped with seven scientific instruments, the main objective of the mission was the long-term observation of the Venusian
atmosphere. The observation over such long periods of time had never been done in previous missions to Venus and was key to a better understanding of the atmospheric dynamics.
Mars Express is a
space exploration mission being conducted by the
European Space Agency (ESA). The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet
Mars and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency.
Rosetta was a
space probe built by the
European Space Agency launched on 2 March 2004. Along with
Philae, its lander module,
Rosetta performed a detailed study of
comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P). During its journey to the comet, the spacecraft
flew by Mars and the
asteroids
21 Lutetia and
2867 Šteins.
Earth observation satellites Airbus Defence and Space is the world's largest supplier of Earth observation systems with more than fifty satellites launched and 18 more under construction. The following are some of their artificial satellites •
TerraSAR-X NG: A next-generation development based on the
TerraSAR-X mission. • AstroBus-L: A platform suited for high-performance Earth observation satellites such as the
Pleiades Twin satellites and the
SPOT satellite system. • Xpress: Low-cost synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite system particularly suitable for surveillance applications in a constellation concept. • AstroBus-S: Earth observation satellites for very-high-resolution (VHR) applications. • AstroBus-XS: Modernized and enhanced version of the very successful
Myriade-based satellite family. • Oberon satellites: synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for
British military intelligence. Some of the major satellite systems built are:
Envisat (the world's largest civilian Earth observation satellite.),
Earth Explorers such as
GOCE,
GRACE,
Swarm,
EarthCARE,
Sentinel Missions,
MetOp and
MetOp-SG.
Telecommunication satellites Airbus Defence and Space has manufactured over a hundred communications satellites.
Eurostar: Used for a series of spacecraft providing telecommunications services in geosynchronous orbit (GEO). More than 70 Eurostar satellites have been ordered to date, of which more than 55 have been successfully launched since October 1990 and have proven highly reliable in operational service. In December 2013, the Eurostar satellites accumulated 500 years of successful operations in orbit. The
Eurostar spacecraft series is designed for a variety of telecommunications needs, including fixed services and broadcast, mobile services, broadband and secured communications. Some of the major telecommunication satellites built are:
Alphabus, the
Eutelsat series, the
Astra series, the
Hispasat series, the
Inmarsat series, and the
UK military Skynet series.
Spaceplane Airbus Defence and Space Spaceplane was a
suborbital spaceplane concept for carrying
space tourists, proposed by Airbus Defence and Space. A full-size
mockup was officially unveiled in
Paris, France, on 13 June 2007, and is now on display in the Concorde hall of the
Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace. The project was the first space tourism entry by a major aerospace contractor.
Rocket engines Airbus Defence and Space also produces commercial versions of its proprietary
rocket engines such as
HM7B,
Aestus,
Vinci and
Vulcain.
One Atlas Airbus Defence and Space launched One Atlas in October 2016, a new satellite image basemap which covers the earth landmasses with imagery. The images available via
Google Drive can be accessed around the clock and are refreshed within a 12-month period. One Atlas was developed for defence or security missions and operations, for example, assisting in the mapping, reporting, and updating of positions, movements, or risk areas, but also providing intelligence when selecting transportation routes and access points.
Starlab joint venture On 9 January 2024 Airbus Defence and Space announced the formation of Starlab Space LLC, a joint venture with Voyager Space to design, construct and operate the
Starlab commercial space station. ==Sites==