Astrium and ESA Sign Contract for Development of Exploration Support Vehicle
EADS ASTRIUM - PRESS RELEASE: Astrium, the preeminent aerospace company of Europe, has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop its Exploration Support Vehicle as a part of the multinational Constellation programme. The contract was signed today in Berlin (Germany), in the presence of Brigitte Zypries, Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The contract, valued at approximately 450 million euros, provides an indispensable component to the American-led space project. The Exploration Support Vehicle (ESV) will serve as a systems test facility and resupply vessel for future interplanetary space missions. The new spacecraft will build on the success of the Automated Transfer Vehicle, which has to date conducted three flawless missions to the International Space Station. Artistic rendering of the EADS Astrium Exploration Support Vehicle. “The signing of thi