New European Space Agency director takes helm

02 Jul 2015 | News
Johann-Dietrich Wörner will replace longstanding head Jean-Jacques Dordain

The European Space Agency (ESA) has a new director general , with Johann-Dietrich Wörner taking the wheel at the Paris-based organisation for an initial period of four years, after vacating his chairmanship of the German Aerospace Centre.

He succeeds Frenchman Jean-Jacques Dordain, who had been in post since 2003 – the agency’s longest-serving head.

“I am in the favourable position to nurture the seeds of Jean-Jacques Dordain’s work,” Wörner said.

During Dordain’s time as director general, ESA co-managed the development of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellite programme, launched space probes to the moon, Venus and, most famously, to a comet during the Rosetta mission last November.

Wörner has written a blog to mark his first day in office in which he quotes the Starwars character Yoda telling Luke Skywalker, “Do….or do not. There is no try.”

Wörner was unanimously elected by the 20-nation ESA ruling council in December last year.

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