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 topicA 1960s technical documentary which opens with footage of a yacht sounding its way into a harbour, followed by the launch of a Skylark sounding rocket. The rest of the film is arranged as follows: an explanation of how sounding rockets are used to survey the region between the reaches of balloons and satellites - used as an example is the S26 rocket, built for ESRO for a campaign scheduled to take place in 1967 in which it will carry experiments to determine the ionisation of the upper atmosphere and to monitor the Sun's radiation; the fuel mixture used in S26 rockets, footage from Royal Ordnance factory at Bridgewater; remote filling of rocket motor case, monitoring by closed-circuit television; attachment of throat and painting of motors; test-firing of motor; payload attachment ring, attachment of base ring, wiring of equipment bays, bays locked together, calibration of sun-sensor unit; testing of deployment of expanding booms, various sensing electrodes; aerial system covered by glass fibre nosecone; test
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