Earth observation chief Dr Josef Aschbacher takes reins at European Space Agency
Also: Rocket Lab rounds out a busy year, OneWeb returns to constellation work, NASA ploughs ahead with Orion
Richard Speed Tue 22 Dec 2020 // 14:30 UTC Share
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In brief Dr Josef Aschbacher will succeed Jan Wörner as director general of the European Space Agency once Wörner s term ends on 30 June 2021.
Aschbacher, currently ESA director of Earth Observation Programmes and head of ESRIN, ESA s centre for Earth Observation near Rome, had been the frontrunner for the job.
His appointment has been welcomed by European organisations. Tony Azzarelli, director and co-founder of UK-based Access Space Alliance, said his nonprofit welcomes the new ESA director general Dr Josef Aschbacher to guide the future of the European Space Agency. We are looking forward to many exciting programmes and discoveries enabled by the space agency, in particular the participation in a Mars sampl