Ministerial Council, Rome, 1985
ESA Director General Reimar Lüst and Gijs van Aardenne, Chair of the Council at Ministerial Level, Villa Madama, Rome, 1985.
At this meeting on 30-31 January 1985 in Rome, ministers agreed to the start of preparatory work on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle and the start of the Horizon 2000 science programme, granting the science programme a 5% increase over five years (subsequently extended for another five years at the end of this period).
Ministers took note, with interest, the French decision to undertake the Hermes crewed space plane programme, and the proposal by France to associate in the detailed studies with European partners within ESA interested in the programme.