Why was the Hipparcos satellite named after Hipparchus?

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Engraving of six astronomers, with Hipparchus seated at center and, from left to right, Galileo, Johannes Hevelius, Tycho Brahe, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Ptolemy standing, each holding scientific instruments. — Hipparchus “Six astronomers,” the frontispiece of *Astronomica Institutio* (1692) by Jan Luyts, engraving after drawing by Gerard Hoet. Hipparchus is seated at center with from left to right: Galileo, Johannes Hevelius, Tycho Brahe, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Ptolemy.

The Hipparcos satellite was named in honor of the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus because of his pioneering work in the 2nd century BCE, most notably his creation of an accurate star catalog that recorded the positions of stars.1

By naming the satellite after him, the European Space Agency recognized his foundational contributions to astronomy, which established early methods for mapping the heavens that the satellite later advanced through modern, high-precision parallax measurements.1