[10-19-07 – Satellite Today]  The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected nine proposals to compete for a pair of launch slots for scientific satellites,  ESA announced Oct. 19.

The agency’s Space Science Advisory Committee selected the nine finalists from a list of 50 proposals. The finalists include missions to study planetary formation, the origin and formation of the solar system, and the fundamental laws of our cosmos and origin, structure and evolution of the universe.

The assessment cycle ends in 2011, and two missions will be proposed to ESA’s Science Programme Committee for launch slots in 2017 and 2018.