World Space Agencies

The French space agency
"Founded in 1961, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) is the government agency responsible for shaping and implementing France's space policy in Europe.

Credits : CNES
Its task is to invent the space systems of the future, bring space technologies to maturity and guarantee France's independent access to space.

CNES is a pivotal player in Europe's space programme, and a major source of initiatives and proposals that aim to maintain France and Europe's competitive edge.

It conceives and executes space programmes with its partners in the scientific community and industry, and is closely involved in many international cooperation programmes-the key to any far-reaching space policy.

The agency's more-than 2,400-strong workforce constitutes an exceptional pool of talent, with some 1,800 engineers and executives, 35% of whom are women.

Through its ability to innovate and its forward-looking vision, CNES is helping to foster new technologies that will benefit society as a whole, focusing on:
    - access to space
    - civil applications of space
    - sustainable development
    - science and technology research
    - security and defence"... more

Arianespace
"Arianespace was founded in 1980 as the world's first satellites launch company. Its shareholders are French space agency CNES, Astrium and all the European space companies, representing 10 European countries. At 1st July 2012, the company had 315 employees, at corporate headquarters in Evry, at the Guiana Space Center (CSG), launch site for Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega, and at local offices in Washington DC, Singapore and Tokyo.

Since its creation, Arianespace has signed contracts with 80 customers and carried out 207 Ariane launches (for a total of 303 payloads including more than half of the commercial satellites now in service worldwide), 26 Soyuz launches (2 at CSG and 24 at Baikonur via its joint subsidiary with Russia, Starsem) and the first launch of Vega."... more

ESA science and technology centre
"To make the dreams of Europe space scientists come true, by creating and operating new scientific spacecraft for the European Space Agency, is the responsibility of staff based mainly at ESTEC, ESA science and technology centre at Noordwijk in the Netherlands.

At ESA headquarters the Director of Science, Roger Bonnet, oversees policy and the overall shape of the science programme, aided by a small team in Paris.

ESA science staff are deployed elsewhere, for example at ESA Villafranca station (near Madrid) for the ISO mission, in Garching (Germany) and Baltimore (USA) for the Hubble Space Telescope, and at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (near Washington DC) for the SOHO mission.

The work of evaluating science projects and managing them in their formative years is never the less concentrated in ESTEC, where technological laboratories and test facilities give practical assistance." ... more

The European Space Agency


"ESA, the European Space Agency, provides a vision of Europe's future in space, and of the benefits for people on the ground that satellites can supply. It also develops the strategies needed to fulfil the vision, through collaborative projects in space science and technology. The development of powerful launchers and novel spacecraft is one method by which ESA operates. Another is by creative interaction with the national space agencies and aerospace industries in ESA's 15 Member States. And in an era when the US-Soviet space race of the Cold War has given way to worldwide cooperation in space, ESA speaks and acts for Europe on the global stage." ... more

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
"On October 1, 2003, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL) and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) were merged into one independent administrative institution to be able to perform all their activities in the aerospace field as one organization, from basic research and development to utilization. The independent administrative institution is the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA.)

As space development and utilization, and aviation research and development are steps to achieve the nation's policy objectives, our contribution to problem solving is an important mission for us. JAXA proposed its long-term vision, "JAXA2025," to realize our own mission.

Under our corporate message "Reaching for the skies, exploring space," JAXA is pursuing great possibilities in various aerospace fields and is striving to succeed with various research and development missions in order to contribute to the peace and happiness of humankind." ... more

" Starsem is the Soyuz company, dedicated to providing commercial launch services with the reliable and proven Soyuz family of launch vehicles. The European-Russian organization brings together all key players involved in the production and operation of Soyuz and is responsible for international sales of the world's most versatile launch vehicle. Created in 1996, Starsem offers the Soyuz for a broad range of mission needs, including satellite telecommunications systems, scientific spacecraft, and Earth observation / meteorological platforms.
Starsem provides each customer a true turnkey service, from manufacture of the launch vehicle to mission preparations at the Baikonur Cosmodrome and successful in-orbit delivery of payloads..." more