ESA (European Space Agency)

ESA is an intergovernmental organization with a mission to provide and promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes:

• space science, research and technology
• space applications

ESA achieves this through:

• space activities and pro grammes
• long-term space policy
• a specific industrial policy
• coordinating European with national space programs

  http://www.esa.int/

  

ESTEC - EUROPEAN SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE is the ESA's largest Establishment. Principal functions:

• project management
• future studies
• space science
• conception & management of ESA's space technology
• programme
• spacecraft testing
• provision of technical expertise & laboratory facilities

THE ESA DIRECTORATE OF TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND OPERATIONS (D/TOS) has put in place a focused organization aimed at creating a framework for stimulating and supporting the co-ordination of Technology Research and Development activities.

THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT covers several key Technical Domains. Among them is the CONTROL AND DATA SYSTEMS DIVISION.

THE CONTROL AND DATA SYSTEMS DIVISION is responsible for the avionics systems and techniques for on-board guidance, navigation, attitude control, computing, data management, data storage, and on-board data communications and the links to ground.

THE COMPUTER AND DATA SYSTEM SECTION's technical expertise covers the definition and implementation of the on-board computer and data systems for ESA missions, together with the related technical support to European space industry. Under this framework, the Section is responsible for the development of space-qualified microprocessors and basic software, fault-tolerant computers, mass-memory modules and units, and on-board data communications (networks and busses) at platform level. It is also responsible for command and control, on-board user interfaces, interfaces to the ground control centre, packet utilization and on-board data communications support software, and on-board autonomy related to the mission and spacecraft management, including FDIR.

For many years we have supported the development of microprocessors for use in the space environment. Our last project with the code name LEON is certified SPARC Compliant to the VHDL description of the SPARC V8 Architecture.

ESTEC is located in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
Our postal address is as follows:

European Space & Technology Centre
Keplerlaan 1
Postbus 299
2200 AG Noordwijk (The Netherlands)

Phone: +31 71 565.6565
Fax: +31 71 565.6040
http://www.estec.esa.nl/

Contact

Patrick Plancke, Patrick.Plancke@esa.int
Andre Pouponnot, apouponn@estec.esa.nl