ESA employees and contractors labour across Europe to make our space scientists' aspirations a reality. Spacecraft are typically planned at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, with ESA overseeing the construction of spacecraft components and scientific equipment by European industry and academia. The components are typically assembled and tested in space at ESTEC before being launched from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana.

Following launch, most spacecraft are controlled by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, while scientific instruments are controlled by the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villanueva de Caada, Spain. The science data from the missions are delivered to the teams that provided the equipment in the first place, preserved at ESAC, and eventually made available to the global scientific community and the public.

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