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 topicEURECA − the EUropean REtrievable CArrier − was a 4.5-tonne satellite with 15 experiments and was deployed into space by Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-46) on 31 July 1992 at an altitude of 508 km. It was retrieved on 21 May 1993 by Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-57). It was operated by ESA from the European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany (see "Eureca in dramatic Shuttle deployment").
This tape provides a summary of operations for the mission, launch recordings and an outline of the science involved.
EURECA is one of the few satellites that have been returned to Earth intact, and it provided a wealth of information for space debris impact studies.
It has been on display at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne since 2000.