ESA Has Its Hands Full This Year

The European Space Agency (ESA) has big plans for 2009, its boss Jean-Jacques Dordain announced at a briefing in Paris on Wednesday. Among the most impressive plans that Dordain presented at the conference there's the launch of the Herschel and Planck telescopes, the maiden flight of the Vega carrier system, and the beginning of Soyuz-powered space flights, from ESA's spaceport in French Guyana. Also, three new satellites will be launched, whose missions are critical for gaining a better understanding of the way ecosystems on Earth work.

"Last year was really an outstanding vintage. But there'll be no breathing space going forward," the official said. Talking about the fact that Russian-built Soyuz missiles will start launching from ESA spaceports soon, Dordain said "This will be a significant milestone in many ways. We really do need Soyuz because at least half of ESA missions are due for launch on Soyuz, whether that be scientific missions or Galileo [satellite-navigation] satellites."

He also promised small businesses working to supply the space agency with countless components required for various missions that their fees would be paid on time, so as to avoid them getting sucked in the undertow of the global financial crisis. "I am thinking particularly of small suppliers, SMEs, which are very important for us here at ESA. They provide us with the technology we need. As they are small companies, they are far more fragile and vulnerable, especially in cash terms. I certainly don't want ESA to cause problems for companies such as these."

Among the most impressive European projects to date, the Herschel telescope will feature a lens larger than even that of Hubble, and will be deployed to orbit in order to observe the Universe using infrared wavelengths. The entire device will be carried into space by an Ariane 5 rocket system.

Similarly, the Planck telescope will be deployed during the same mission as its larger counterpart, but its mission will be to detect and analyze cosmic microwave background radiation, thought to originate from the earliest stages of the Universe, and to contain data about the early formations that preceded stars and black holes.

Given the grandeur of ESA's plans, it's safe to assume that everyone involved in the projects have to keep their fingers crossed, and hope for the best. This year will also be conclusive in determining if the European ATVs are capable of taking the place of the US shuttle fleet, when it retires in 2010.