Editing European Space Operations Centre

{{short description|Main mission control centre for the European Space Agency}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{infobox organization
| name                = European Space Operations Centre
| image               = Views in the Main Control Room (12052189474).jpg
| image_border        = 
| size                = 250px
| caption             = ESOC Main Control Room in Darmstadt
| abbreviation        = ESOC
| motto               = 
| formation           = 8 September 1967
| extinction          = 
| type                = [[Intergovernmental organization|IGO]]
| status              = 
| purpose             = Spacecraft ground control
| headquarters        = [[Paris]], [[France]]
| location            = [[Darmstadt]], [[Germany]]
| coords              = {{coord|49|52|16|N|8|37|22|E|display=inline,title|region:DE_type:landmark}}
| region_served       = 
| membership          = 
| leader_title        = Head of Establishment
| leader_name         = Rolf Densing
| main_organ          = 
| parent_organization = [[European Space Agency]]
| affiliations        = 
| num_staff           = >800
| num_volunteers      = 
| budget              = 
| website             = {{URL|http://www.esa.int/esoc}}
| remarks             = ESOC is one of nine establishments operated by ESA<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Welcome_to_ESA/Establishments_and_facilities| title = Establishments and facilities / Welcome to ESA / About Us / ESA<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Signal received from Rosetta (12055070794).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Signal received at ESOC from [[Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta]] (January 2014), the first comet landing mission]]

The '''European Space Operations Centre''' ('''ESOC''') serves as the main mission control centre for the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA) and is located in [[Darmstadt]], [[Germany]]. ESOC's primary function is the operation of uncrewed spacecraft on behalf of ESA and the launch and early orbit phases (LEOP) of ESA and third-party missions.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/About_Operations| title = ESA Spacecraft Operations – About us & frequently asked questions}}</ref> The Centre is also responsible for a range of operations-related activities within ESA and in cooperation with ESA's industry and international partners, including ground systems engineering, software development, flight dynamics and navigation, development of mission control tools and techniques and space debris studies.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/gse/Building_infrastructure_on_Earth_to_support_satellites_in_space| title = ESA's Ground Systems Engineering Team}}</ref>

ESOC's current major activities comprise operating planetary and solar missions, such as [[Mars Express]] and the [[Trace Gas Orbiter]], astronomy & fundamental physics missions, such as [[Gaia (spacecraft)|Gaia]] and [[XMM-Newton|XMM Newton]], and Earth observation missions such as [[CryoSat-2|CryoSat2]] and [[Swarm (spacecraft)|Swarm]].

ESOC is responsible for developing, operating and maintaining ESA's [[ESTRACK|ESTRACK network]] of ground stations. Teams at the Centre are also involved in research and development related to advanced mission control concepts and Space Situational Awareness, and standardisation activities related to frequency management; mission operations; tracking, [[telemetry]] and telecommanding; and [[space debris]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESOC/Where_missions_come_alive| title = Where missions come alive}}</ref>

==Missions==

ESOC's current missions comprise the following:<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations| title = ESA Space Operations}}</ref>

Planetary and solar missions
* [[BepiColombo]]
* [[Mars Express]]
* [[Solar Orbiter]]
* [[ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter]]
* [[Cluster II (spacecraft)|Cluster II]]
* [[Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer|JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE)]]
* [[Hera (space mission)|Hera]]

Astronomy and fundamental physics missions
* [[Gaia (spacecraft)|Gaia]]
* [[INTEGRAL]]
* [[XMM-Newton]]
* [[Euclid (spacecraft)|Euclid]]

Earth observation missions
* [[CryoSat-2]]
* [[Swarm (spacecraft)|Swarm]]
* [[Sentinel-1A]]
* [[Sentinel-1C]]
* [[Sentinel-2A]]
* [[Sentinel-2B]]
* [[Sentinel-2C]]
* [[Sentinel-5 Precursor]]
* [[Soil_Moisture_and_Ocean_Salinity|SMOS]]
* [[EarthCARE]]

In addition, the [[ground segment]] and [[mission control]] teams for several missions are in preparation<ref name="autogenerated1"/> and training, including:

* [[ExoMars]]
* [[Biomass (satellite)|Biomass]]
* [[FLEX_(satellite)|FLEX]]
* [[PLATO (spacecraft)|PLATO]]
* future satellites of the [[Sentinel (satellite)|Sentinel]] programme

==ESTRACK==

ESOC hosts the control centre for the Agency's European Tracking [[ESTRACK]] station network. The core network comprises seven stations in seven countries: [[Kourou]] (French Guiana), [[Cebreros]] (Spain), [[Redu]] (Belgium), [[Santa Maria (Portugal)|Santa Maria]] (Portugal), [[Kiruna]] (Sweden), [[Malargüe]] (Argentina) and [[New Norcia]] (Australia). Operators are on duty at ESOC 24 hours/day, year round, to conduct tracking passes,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Estrack/Network_Operations_Centre| title = ESTRACK Network Operations Centre}}</ref> uploading telecommands and downloading telemetry and data.

==Activities==

[[File:European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt-space telescope.jpg|thumbnail|right|XMM-Newton model at ESOC]]

In addition to 'pure' mission operations, a number of other activities take place at the Centre, most of which are directly related to ESA's broader space operations activities.

* [[Flight dynamics (spacecraft)|Flight dynamics]]: A team is responsible for all orbital calculations and orbit determinations.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/gse/Flight_Dynamics| title = ESOC Flight Dynamics}}</ref>
* [[Mission analysis]]: Selection and calculation of possible orbits and launch windows<ref name="autogenerated2"/>
* Software development: Mission control systems and spacecraft management tools<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/gse/European_software_excellence| title = Mission operations and control system software}}</ref>
* [[ESA Navigation Support Office]]: Calculating and predicting GPS and Galileo satellite orbits<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/gse/ESA_Navigation_Support_Office| title = ESA Navigation Facility}}</ref>
* Ground station engineering: Developing deep-space tracking technology<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/gse/Ground_Station_Engineering| title = Ground Station Engineering}}</ref>
* [[Space debris]]: Coordinating ESA's debris research, provision of conjunction warning services and cooperating with agencies worldwide<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris| title = ESA Space Debris Office}}</ref>
* Frequency management: Helping manage radio spectrum used by all satellite operators<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/gse/Coordinating_radio_waves_that_carry_space_data| title = Frequency management}}</ref>

==History==
The European Space Operations Centre was formally inaugurated in [[Darmstadt]], Germany, on 8 September 1967 by the then-[[Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany)|Minister of Research]] of the Federal Republic of Germany, [[Gerhard Stoltenberg]]. Its role was to provide satellite control for the [[ESRO|European Space Research Organisation]] (ESRO), which is today known as its successor organisation, the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA).<ref name="autogenerated3">{{cite web| url = https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESOC/ESA_pays_tribute_to_ESOC_s_40th_anniversary2| title = ESA pays tribute to ESOC's 40th anniversary}}</ref>

The 90-person ESOC facility was, as it is today, located on the west side of Darmstadt; it employed the staff and resources previously allocated to the European Space Data Centre ([[ESDAC]]), which had been established in 1963 to conduct orbit calculations.<ref name="autogenerated3"/> These were augmented by mission control staff transferred from [[ESTEC]] to operate satellites and manage the [[ESTRACK]] tracking station network.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/esapub/sp/sp1235/sp1235v2web.pdf| title = History of the European Space Agency 1958 – 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/publications/HSR/HSR_08.PDF| title = EUROPE INTO SPACE:THE AUGER YEARS, page 35}}</ref>

Within just eight months, ESOC, as part of ESRO, was already operating its first mission, ESRO-2B, a scientific research satellite and the first of many operated from ESOC for ESRO, and later ESA.<ref name="autogenerated3"/>

By July 2012, ESOC had operated over 56 missions<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/ESOC/SEMEFCW4QWD_0.html| title = ESA mission history}}</ref> spanning science, Earth observation, orbiting observatories, meteorology and space physics.

In 2024 ESA announced a new satellite control center at ESOC. Designed to support multiple launch operations at once and with power redundancy that will provide 99% uptime, the control center will be designed with the future in mind.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The spacecraft control centre of the future |url=https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/The_spacecraft_control_centre_of_the_future |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.esa.int |language=en}}</ref>

==Location and expansion==
[[Image:European Space Operations Centre.jpg|thumb|European Space Operations Centre]]

ESOC is located on the west side of the city of [[Darmstadt]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.google.com/maps?q=ESOC,+Robert-Bosch-Stra%C3%9Fe,+Darmstadt,+Deutschland&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=49.871199,8.623302&spn=0.008809,0.026157&sll=49.870604,8.624182&sspn=0.00881,0.026157&oq=ESOC,+d&hq=ESOC,&hnear=Robert-Bosch-Stra%C3%9Fe,+64293+Darmstadt,+Hessen,+Germany&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A| title = Google map}}</ref> some {{convert|500|m|abbr=on}} from the [[Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof|main train station]], at Robert-Bosch-Straße 5. In 2011, ESA announced the first phase of the ESOC II modernisation and expansion project valued at €60 million.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/ESOC/SEMC2A4SNIG_0.html| title = ESA operations centre to be expanded}}</ref> The new construction will be located across Robert-Bosch-Straße, opposite the current centre.

==Employees==
At ESOC, ESA employs approximately 800, comprising some 250 permanent staff and about 550 contractors. Staff from ESOC are routinely dispatched to work at other ESA establishments, [[ESTRACK]] stations, the [[ATV Control Centre]] (Toulouse), the [[Columbus Control Centre]] (Oberpfaffenhofen) and at partner facilities in several countries.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMVKB8ZMRE_0.html| title = About us & frequently asked questions (FAQ)}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[ATV Control Centre]] ([[Toulouse]], France)
* [[Columbus Control Centre]] ([[Oberpfaffenhofen]], Germany)
* [[ESA Centre for Earth Observation]] (ESRIN)
* [[European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications]] (ECSAT)
* [[European Space Astronomy Centre]] (ESAC)
* [[European Space Research and Technology Centre]] (ESTEC)
* [[European Union Satellite Centre]] (EU SatCen)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|ESOC}}
* [http://www.esa.int/esoc European Space Operations Centre website]
* [http://www.esa.int/Operations ESA Operations website]
* [http://www.esa.int/estrack ESTRACK station website]
* [http://www.esa.int/ssa Space Situational Awareness website]
* [http://www.esa.int/spacedebris ESA Space Debris website]

{{European Space Agency}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1967 establishments in West Germany]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1967]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Darmstadt]]
[[Category:European Space Agency facilities]]
[[Category:International organisations based in Germany]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Hesse]]
[[Category:Space technology research institutes]]