ESA at the Paris Air Show relevant to the media

ESA PR 18-2011. The world’s leading air and space event, the Paris Air Show, will open its doors for a week on 20 June. The salon will include a strong ESA presence, highlighting its activities for the benefit of space experts and the general public.

ESA’s dedicated pavilion can be found between the full-size models of the Ariane 1 and Ariane 5 launchers.

Space provides indispensable technologies and services for a knowledge-based society and increases our understanding of our planet and Universe. The pavilion will emphasise how space applications and technologies are at the origin of new services for our society, key to fostering European growth and employment.

The ESA pavilion at Le Bourget is open throughout the week of the Air Show, and will host several presentations and events.

The key events of media interest are listed below. The overview will be updated before the opening of the show. Consult www.esa.int for the latest information.

All events will be held in the ESA pavilion, unless otherwise noted.

Throughout the exhibition, Media Relations will be available to connect members of the media with ESA experts.


Monday, 20 June


*Signature of Administrative Arrangement between ESA and the European Defence Agency (EDA)

*The Arrangement will cover the cooperation between ESA and EDA through the coordination of their respective activities. The cooperation will explore the added value and contribution of space assets to the development of European capabilities in crisis management and the Common Security and Defence Policy.
Time: 12:50–13:30

*Director General press briefing

*Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of ESA, will update media on the latest developments and achievements.
Time: 15:30–16:45
*A webcast of the event will be available at www.esa.int

*EGNOS roundtables (co-sponsored with CNES and Thales Alenia Space)

*The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) improves the accuracy of satellite-based navigation systems. This first pan-European satnav system was declared in March usable for the critical task of vertically guiding aircraft during landing approaches, a first for space-based navigation signals.
*Two roundtables will be held, both open to media. The first, “EGNOS, A Service of the European Union for Civil Aviation” is oriented towards users and operators of the service. The second, “Perspectives of Evolution for EGNOS Infrastructure: with Galileo What Will be on the Horizon in 2020–2030” will tackle the systems’ prospects and development.
Time: 15:30–18:00
Location: Room 3 of SIAE




Tuesday, 21 June


*Release of first data from CryoSat

*ESA’s CryoSat is Europe’s first satellite dedicated to the study of ice. Results from measurements performed during the first year of the mission will be presented.
Time: 11:45–13:30
A webcast of the event will be available at www.esa.int

*EGNOS aviation experts available for media (co-sponsored with CNES and Thales Alenia Space)

*The various partners involved in deploying and managing EGNOS for use in civil aviation will gather in an event open to media.
Time: 17:00–18:00




Wednesday, 22 June


*Presentation on advanced materials and energy research on the International Space Station (ISS)

*Within the EU’s Sixth and Seventh Framework Programme (FP6/FP7), ESA is conducting research on the ISS into materials (metals, composites) and energy conversion for the benefit of space and terrestrial applications. The presentation will showcase results from this research.
Time: 10:00–11:00

*Signature event: High-Thrust Engine Project for Next-Generation Launcher

*Liquid propulsion is a candidate for the main propulsion of Europe’s next-generation launcher. A contract will be signed to pave the way for the development towards Engine and Subsystems Preliminary Design Reviews for a next-generation launcher first stage liquid engine demonstrator.
Time: 11:15–11:45

*Announcement and signatures of contracts for Galileo ground segments

*Two contracts being signed cover all the elements controlling the Galileo satellite constellation as well as the systems underpinning Galileo services.
Time: 14:00–15:00

Thursday, 23 June

*Signature event: SmallGEO

*The Small Geostationary Satellite (SmallGEO) initiative is developing a general purpose small geostationary satellite platform in a Public Private Partnership with a consortium led by the German company OHB-System AG. The contract extension will enable the development of more services that will benefit a larger variety of potential customers.
Time: 15:00-16:30



Presentation on the ATV-2 mission and the ATV programme

ATV Johannes Kepler will complete its mission with a planned destructive reentry on 21 June. The talk will address the mission’s achievements and the status of the future ATVs.
Time: 16:30–17:30