The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicOutline of the proposed Hermes spaceplane programme. Hermes, with a crew of three, was to have been launched from the Guiana Space Centre by an Ariane 5 rated for human spaceflight. Hermes would have serviced the Columbus Free Flyer, an experiment platform in low Earth orbit, performed experiments in orbit, visited what was then called Space Station Freedom, now the International Space Station (ISS), or serviced the unmanned remote sensing Polar Platform (PPF).
The Hermes programme was cancelled in 1992 and plans for an Ariane 5 rated for human spaceflight were abandoned as a consequence. The Columbus Free Flyer was abandoned prior to the start of Phase C/D (detailed design and manufacturing) for cost reasons. The Polar Platform adopted some components from the French HELIOS satellite and eventually became the common platform on which Envisat and the MetOp satellites were built.