ESOC was founded by the minister of Research of Federal Republic of Germany, Gerhard Stoltenberg, on the 8th September 1967. Its purpose was to provide satellite control for the European Space Research Organisation, which today is known as the European Space Agency (ESA).   ESOC employed ~90 people that had been previously allocated to the European Space Data Centre (ESDAC) where orbit calculations for satellites were made.By May 1968, the establishment of ESOC, as part of ERSO, was operating its first unmanned mission ESRO-2B.

 

Mission Discoveries made with the patronage of ESOC.

 

• In 2009, the Herschel satellite discovered a starburst galaxy producing over 2000 solar masses annually. HFLS3 was born 880 million years after the big bang . According to theories of galaxy evolution, galaxies as massive as HFLS3 should not be around so early after the Big Bang. Galaxy evolution concepts are now being reconsidered.

• Cluster has gained information about dark regions can be seen during aurorae . Cluster has confirmed that these dark regions are phenomena that can be considered as 'anti aurora', which pulls electrons from the ionosphere.

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