ESA Operations
@operations.esa.int
From Earth orbit to deep space: sharing the excitement of real-time mission operations at the European Space Agency. Home for ESA's teams working on Planetary Defence, Space Weather, Clean Space & Space Debris.
esa.int/Operations
esa.int/Space_Safety
esa.int/Operations
esa.int/Space_Safety
The team at #ESOC has completed the LEOP for the Copernicus Sentinel-6B satellite and subsequently handed over control to their colleagues and teammates at @eumetsat.int . 🛰️
Congratulations to all the teams in this truly collaborative effort! 🤝
Congratulations to all the teams in this truly collaborative effort! 🤝
We have officially taken control of #Sentinel6B! 🕹️
Now on the way to its nominal orbit, it will soon fly in tandem with Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich to ensure precise cross-calibration before becoming the world’s new reference mission for ocean altimetry. 🌊
Read more about it here: bit.ly/4oPmrHB
Now on the way to its nominal orbit, it will soon fly in tandem with Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich to ensure precise cross-calibration before becoming the world’s new reference mission for ocean altimetry. 🌊
Read more about it here: bit.ly/4oPmrHB
November 20, 2025 at 4:43 PM
The team at #ESOC has completed the LEOP for the Copernicus Sentinel-6B satellite and subsequently handed over control to their colleagues and teammates at @eumetsat.int . 🛰️
Congratulations to all the teams in this truly collaborative effort! 🤝
Congratulations to all the teams in this truly collaborative effort! 🤝
☄️ 40 000 near-Earth asteroids discovered!
Thankfully, none of them are cause for concern for the foreseeable future, but ESA's planetary defence teams are keeping a watchful eye on the skies.
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
Thankfully, none of them are cause for concern for the foreseeable future, but ESA's planetary defence teams are keeping a watchful eye on the skies.
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
November 20, 2025 at 9:16 AM
☄️ 40 000 near-Earth asteroids discovered!
Thankfully, none of them are cause for concern for the foreseeable future, but ESA's planetary defence teams are keeping a watchful eye on the skies.
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
Thankfully, none of them are cause for concern for the foreseeable future, but ESA's planetary defence teams are keeping a watchful eye on the skies.
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
Proudly celebrating #LGBTQinSTEMDay at #ESOC!🌈
Today is #LGBTQinSTEMDay 🌈
ESA proudly joins the STEM community in celebrating the unique contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals.
The Pride Flag will fly across ESA sites as a reminder of how far we’ve come, and how much more there is to do.
#SpaceForAll
ESA proudly joins the STEM community in celebrating the unique contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals.
The Pride Flag will fly across ESA sites as a reminder of how far we’ve come, and how much more there is to do.
#SpaceForAll
November 18, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Proudly celebrating #LGBTQinSTEMDay at #ESOC!🌈
We hear you, #CopernicusEU Sentinel-6B! The Inuvik Satellite Station in Canada has received the first signals from the satellite. The orbit has been reached, and telemetry has begun to arrive at ESA's mission control in Germany!
Mission confirmed ✅
#CopernicusEU Sentinel-6B is now in orbit and ready to begin its Launch & Early Operations phase with @operations.esa.int. The satellite is ready to continue a decades-long mission to track the height of the planet’s seas – a key measure of climate change.
#CopernicusEU Sentinel-6B is now in orbit and ready to begin its Launch & Early Operations phase with @operations.esa.int. The satellite is ready to continue a decades-long mission to track the height of the planet’s seas – a key measure of climate change.
Sentinel-6B launched to extend record of sea-level rise
The latest guardian of our oceans has taken its place in orbit. The Copernicus Sentinel-6B satellite is now circling Earth, ready to continue a decades-long mission to track the height of the planet’s...
esa.int
November 17, 2025 at 8:10 AM
We hear you, #CopernicusEU Sentinel-6B! The Inuvik Satellite Station in Canada has received the first signals from the satellite. The orbit has been reached, and telemetry has begun to arrive at ESA's mission control in Germany!
☀️ ESA actively monitoring severe space weather event
On 11 November, an intense solar flare was observed, followed by a coronal mass ejection estimated to arrive at Earth in the late evening today or in the early morning tomorrow.
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
On 11 November, an intense solar flare was observed, followed by a coronal mass ejection estimated to arrive at Earth in the late evening today or in the early morning tomorrow.
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
November 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
☀️ ESA actively monitoring severe space weather event
On 11 November, an intense solar flare was observed, followed by a coronal mass ejection estimated to arrive at Earth in the late evening today or in the early morning tomorrow.
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
On 11 November, an intense solar flare was observed, followed by a coronal mass ejection estimated to arrive at Earth in the late evening today or in the early morning tomorrow.
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
That’s it from us on Copernicus Sentinel-1D! If you like launches, don't forget to tune back for the launch of Copernicus Sentinel-6B later this month.
📷ESA - J. Mai
📷ESA - J. Mai
November 4, 2025 at 11:35 PM
That’s it from us on Copernicus Sentinel-1D! If you like launches, don't forget to tune back for the launch of Copernicus Sentinel-6B later this month.
📷ESA - J. Mai
📷ESA - J. Mai
The teams at ESA mission control will now spend around 10 hours carefully unfolding Copernicus's Sentinel-1D’s 12 m radar and two 10 m solar wings. The satellite’s unique deployment sequence was designed to ensure that these complex structures all deploy in the safest possible way.
📷ESA/Mlabspace
📷ESA/Mlabspace
November 4, 2025 at 11:29 PM
The teams at ESA mission control will now spend around 10 hours carefully unfolding Copernicus's Sentinel-1D’s 12 m radar and two 10 m solar wings. The satellite’s unique deployment sequence was designed to ensure that these complex structures all deploy in the safest possible way.
📷ESA/Mlabspace
📷ESA/Mlabspace
Reposted by ESA Operations
The #CopernicusEU Sentinel-1 mission welcomes a new member: Sentinel-1D, launched at 21:02 GMT/22:02 CET from Kourou on Ariane 6 #VA265.
www.esa.int/Applications...
@cnes.fr @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social @transport.esa.int
www.esa.int/Applications...
@cnes.fr @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social @transport.esa.int
November 4, 2025 at 10:54 PM
The #CopernicusEU Sentinel-1 mission welcomes a new member: Sentinel-1D, launched at 21:02 GMT/22:02 CET from Kourou on Ariane 6 #VA265.
www.esa.int/Applications...
@cnes.fr @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social @transport.esa.int
www.esa.int/Applications...
@cnes.fr @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social @transport.esa.int
We hear you, Copernicus Sentinel-1D! KSAT Kongsberg’s Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica, has received the first signals from the satellite. The orbit has been reached and telemetry has begun to arrive at ESA's mission control in Darmstadt!
November 4, 2025 at 10:23 PM
We hear you, Copernicus Sentinel-1D! KSAT Kongsberg’s Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica, has received the first signals from the satellite. The orbit has been reached and telemetry has begun to arrive at ESA's mission control in Darmstadt!
We have liftoff!
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D’s first signals are expected to arrive at ESA mission control via a ground antenna at KSAT Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica, in about an hour and a half.
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D’s first signals are expected to arrive at ESA mission control via a ground antenna at KSAT Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica, in about an hour and a half.
Liftoff of Ariane 6 #VA265 with #CopernicusEU Sentinel-1D on 4 November 2025! Follow live on watch.esa.int/two/
@euspa.bsky.social @cnes.fr @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social @transport.esa.int
@euspa.bsky.social @cnes.fr @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social @transport.esa.int
November 4, 2025 at 9:11 PM
We have liftoff!
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D’s first signals are expected to arrive at ESA mission control via a ground antenna at KSAT Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica, in about an hour and a half.
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D’s first signals are expected to arrive at ESA mission control via a ground antenna at KSAT Troll Satellite Ground Station in Antarctica, in about an hour and a half.
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D launch GO/NOGO Roll Call is complete! 📣 All station reporting in. Flight Director Ian Shurmer and the rest of the team at @esa.int mission control are green for launch in approximately 35 minutes.
soundcloud.com/esa/sentinel...
soundcloud.com/esa/sentinel...
Sentinel-1D RollCall
Official SoundCloud channel of ESA - the European Space Agency. Most (not all) audio content here is licensed under CC BY-SA IGO 3.0. Please check individual credits to be certain. Can't find a track?
soundcloud.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:29 PM
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D launch GO/NOGO Roll Call is complete! 📣 All station reporting in. Flight Director Ian Shurmer and the rest of the team at @esa.int mission control are green for launch in approximately 35 minutes.
soundcloud.com/esa/sentinel...
soundcloud.com/esa/sentinel...
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite will enhance our planet's radar vision. It will join the fleet of Sentinels operated from ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, which includes Sentinel-1A. 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C & 5P. We also helped get Sentinel-3A, 3B & 6 up & running post-launch.
🎥ESA/Mlabspace
🎥ESA/Mlabspace
November 4, 2025 at 7:38 PM
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite will enhance our planet's radar vision. It will join the fleet of Sentinels operated from ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, which includes Sentinel-1A. 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C & 5P. We also helped get Sentinel-3A, 3B & 6 up & running post-launch.
🎥ESA/Mlabspace
🎥ESA/Mlabspace
One of the simulation exercises made them face a solar storm of extreme magnitude. While we wait for the next launch preparation phase, we encourage you to take a look at the consequences of this nightmare scenario: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
📷ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
📷ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
November 4, 2025 at 5:48 PM
One of the simulation exercises made them face a solar storm of extreme magnitude. While we wait for the next launch preparation phase, we encourage you to take a look at the consequences of this nightmare scenario: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
📷ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
📷ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
ESOC mission control has never been more ready. Over the last weeks, our teams have been rehearsing the Copernicus Sentinel-1D launch and crucial early-orbit phase in a set of simulation sessions. Read more about it at: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
📷ESA - J. Mai
📷ESA - J. Mai
November 4, 2025 at 5:29 PM
ESOC mission control has never been more ready. Over the last weeks, our teams have been rehearsing the Copernicus Sentinel-1D launch and crucial early-orbit phase in a set of simulation sessions. Read more about it at: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
📷ESA - J. Mai
📷ESA - J. Mai
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D ‘Network Countdown’ has begun. Launch, communication and control facilities around the world have begun a synchronised sequence of activities to prepare for liftoff at 22:02 CET tonight and the crucial hours that follow. 🚀Watch live at esawebtv.esa.int
📷ESA - J. Mai
📷ESA - J. Mai
November 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D ‘Network Countdown’ has begun. Launch, communication and control facilities around the world have begun a synchronised sequence of activities to prepare for liftoff at 22:02 CET tonight and the crucial hours that follow. 🚀Watch live at esawebtv.esa.int
📷ESA - J. Mai
📷ESA - J. Mai
☄️ Fireball observed over Spain and Portugal!
On 2 November 2025 at 20:41 CET, ESA’s fireball camera in Cáceres, Spain, recorded a bright bolide streaking northwest over Portugal. It was travelling at approximately 81 000 km/h.
Credit: ESA/PDO/AMS82 - AllSky7
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
On 2 November 2025 at 20:41 CET, ESA’s fireball camera in Cáceres, Spain, recorded a bright bolide streaking northwest over Portugal. It was travelling at approximately 81 000 km/h.
Credit: ESA/PDO/AMS82 - AllSky7
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
November 4, 2025 at 1:49 PM
☄️ Fireball observed over Spain and Portugal!
On 2 November 2025 at 20:41 CET, ESA’s fireball camera in Cáceres, Spain, recorded a bright bolide streaking northwest over Portugal. It was travelling at approximately 81 000 km/h.
Credit: ESA/PDO/AMS82 - AllSky7
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
On 2 November 2025 at 20:41 CET, ESA’s fireball camera in Cáceres, Spain, recorded a bright bolide streaking northwest over Portugal. It was travelling at approximately 81 000 km/h.
Credit: ESA/PDO/AMS82 - AllSky7
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Asteroids and solar storms and space debris, oh my!
Explore the upcoming fleet of ESA Space Safety missions dedicated to safeguarding humans and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit from hazards originating in space:
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Explore the upcoming fleet of ESA Space Safety missions dedicated to safeguarding humans and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit from hazards originating in space:
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
ESA Space Safety Fleet
ESA Space Safety Fleet
www.esa.int
October 31, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Asteroids and solar storms and space debris, oh my!
Explore the upcoming fleet of ESA Space Safety missions dedicated to safeguarding humans and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit from hazards originating in space:
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Explore the upcoming fleet of ESA Space Safety missions dedicated to safeguarding humans and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit from hazards originating in space:
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Reposted by ESA Operations
Join us from 19:00 CET for the live premiere of 'Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster' 🍿
#ESACluster scientists & engineers, as well as the filmmakers will be waiting for your questions in the live chat.
Watch here👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_r...
Heads up @esww2025.bsky.social #ESWW2025
🔭 🧪 ☀️
#ESACluster scientists & engineers, as well as the filmmakers will be waiting for your questions in the live chat.
Watch here👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_r...
Heads up @esww2025.bsky.social #ESWW2025
🔭 🧪 ☀️
Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster (Full documentary)
YouTube video by European Space Agency, ESA
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Join us from 19:00 CET for the live premiere of 'Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster' 🍿
#ESACluster scientists & engineers, as well as the filmmakers will be waiting for your questions in the live chat.
Watch here👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_r...
Heads up @esww2025.bsky.social #ESWW2025
🔭 🧪 ☀️
#ESACluster scientists & engineers, as well as the filmmakers will be waiting for your questions in the live chat.
Watch here👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_r...
Heads up @esww2025.bsky.social #ESWW2025
🔭 🧪 ☀️
Reposted by ESA Operations
🛰️ @esa.int’s first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat #Henon takes shape!
⚡A tailor-made propulsion system will take this small but mighty satellite into an orbit around the Sun, where the CubeSat will detect solar storms, improving our current warning time ☀️ www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
⚡A tailor-made propulsion system will take this small but mighty satellite into an orbit around the Sun, where the CubeSat will detect solar storms, improving our current warning time ☀️ www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
October 29, 2025 at 10:10 AM
🛰️ @esa.int’s first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat #Henon takes shape!
⚡A tailor-made propulsion system will take this small but mighty satellite into an orbit around the Sun, where the CubeSat will detect solar storms, improving our current warning time ☀️ www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
⚡A tailor-made propulsion system will take this small but mighty satellite into an orbit around the Sun, where the CubeSat will detect solar storms, improving our current warning time ☀️ www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft is ready to aim its instruments at interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS! 🪐☄️
Here’s what’s happening and why it’s such a rare opportunity 🧵
Here’s what’s happening and why it’s such a rare opportunity 🧵
October 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft is ready to aim its instruments at interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS! 🪐☄️
Here’s what’s happening and why it’s such a rare opportunity 🧵
Here’s what’s happening and why it’s such a rare opportunity 🧵
The second of four @science.esa.int Cluster satellites has reentered the atmosphere. Rumba’s 25-year dance around Earth ended in a targeted reentry over a remote region of the Pacific Ocean at 20:59 CEST on 22 October.
October 24, 2025 at 7:26 AM
The second of four @science.esa.int Cluster satellites has reentered the atmosphere. Rumba’s 25-year dance around Earth ended in a targeted reentry over a remote region of the Pacific Ocean at 20:59 CEST on 22 October.
☀️Flying through the strongest solar storm ever recorded
No communication or navigation, faulty electronics, collision risks. ESA mission control teams faced a scenario unlike any before. Fortunately, this nightmare unfolded not in reality, but as part of the simulation!
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
No communication or navigation, faulty electronics, collision risks. ESA mission control teams faced a scenario unlike any before. Fortunately, this nightmare unfolded not in reality, but as part of the simulation!
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
October 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
☀️Flying through the strongest solar storm ever recorded
No communication or navigation, faulty electronics, collision risks. ESA mission control teams faced a scenario unlike any before. Fortunately, this nightmare unfolded not in reality, but as part of the simulation!
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
No communication or navigation, faulty electronics, collision risks. ESA mission control teams faced a scenario unlike any before. Fortunately, this nightmare unfolded not in reality, but as part of the simulation!
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
Check out the new trailer for @esa.int's proposed Ramses mission! 🍿📽️
Ramses would escort the cruise-ship-sized asteroid Apophis through its safe but exceptionally rare flyby of Earth in 2029: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Ramses would escort the cruise-ship-sized asteroid Apophis through its safe but exceptionally rare flyby of Earth in 2029: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Ramses: ESA’s mission to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis
www.esa.int
October 13, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Check out the new trailer for @esa.int's proposed Ramses mission! 🍿📽️
Ramses would escort the cruise-ship-sized asteroid Apophis through its safe but exceptionally rare flyby of Earth in 2029: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Ramses would escort the cruise-ship-sized asteroid Apophis through its safe but exceptionally rare flyby of Earth in 2029: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
🛰️ Rehearsing for Sentinel-6B’s early days in space
Mission control at ESOC is getting ready for the launch of Europe’s latest sea-level monitoring satellite. The campaign is designed to test their ability to deal with issues, adapt the timeline, and operate under stress.
www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
Mission control at ESOC is getting ready for the launch of Europe’s latest sea-level monitoring satellite. The campaign is designed to test their ability to deal with issues, adapt the timeline, and operate under stress.
www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
October 8, 2025 at 12:53 PM
🛰️ Rehearsing for Sentinel-6B’s early days in space
Mission control at ESOC is getting ready for the launch of Europe’s latest sea-level monitoring satellite. The campaign is designed to test their ability to deal with issues, adapt the timeline, and operate under stress.
www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
Mission control at ESOC is getting ready for the launch of Europe’s latest sea-level monitoring satellite. The campaign is designed to test their ability to deal with issues, adapt the timeline, and operate under stress.
www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...