The astronauts during their training at Star City. From left to right: Ulf Merbold and Pedro Duque, who are training for the EuroMir-94 mission; and Thomas Reiter and Christer Fuglesang, who are training for the EuroMir-95 mission
The four ESA astronauts training for the EuroMir missions are continuing their intensive preparations, mainly at Star City near Moscow and at ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.
The first mission, EuroMir-94, will last 30 days and will take place this October. The second one, Euromir-95, will last up to 135 days and will begin in August 1995.
The astronauts during their training at Star City. From left to right: Ulf Merbold and Pedro Duque, who are training for the EuroMir-94 mission; and Thomas Reiter and Christer Fuglesang, who are training for the EuroMir-95 mission
The astronauts have two hours of Russian language classes everyday. They find that the language is the greatest obstacle in their training
Ulf Merbold (left) and Pedro Duque (right) during communications and operations training in a mockup of the Soyuz space capsule. The crew of three cosmonauts will spend the take-off and landing in the Soyuz in this position, in a custom-fitted, basket-like seat
Reiter (centre) and Fuglesang (right) in cooling suits worn under the special spacesuit (left) during training in the pool. Water is pumped through coils in the cooling suit to keep the astronaut cool while he works under water in the watertight EVA suit
Pedro Duque (left), the back-up ESA astronaut, and Ulf Merbold (right), the ESA astronaut on the EuroMir-94 mission
Ulf Merbold has been selected as the ESA astronaut who will fly on the EuroMir-94 mission this October. The Director General of ESA, Jean-Marie Luton, made the announcement at a press conference at the ILA'94 Berlin Air show on 30 May.
The 30-day mission on board the Russian Space Station Miris scheduled to be launched on 3 October and will carry about 30 experiments for scientists from ESA Member States. The other two members of the three-member crew will be Russian cosmonauts. As the Research Cosmonaut, Merbold will be fully responsible for the experimental programme and for selected tasks to be performed on some Soyuzand Mir systems. He will also be involved in the final mission preparation, mission execution and post-mission activities.
Merbold and another ESA astronaut, Pedro Duque, have been training for the mission since August 1993 while two other ESA astronauts, Christer Fuglesang and Thomas Reiter, are preparing for the EuroMir-95 mission.
Duque has been named to the back-up crew along with two other Russian cosmonauts. That crew, which is being trained in parallel with the prime crew, must be ready to fly in case a member of the prime crew cannot. About three weeks before the launch, the flight readiness of both crews will be assessed, and the prime and back-up crews will be confirmed.
The back-up ESA astronaut will also play an active role in the experimental programme, acting as Crew Interface Coordinator at the Mission Control Centre in Kaliningrad, Russia, to ensure the flow of communication between the ground crew and the Mir crew, and the performance of the experiments.
Merbold has already flown twice as an ESA astronaut, on STS-9/Spacelab-1 in 1983 and on STS-42/I ML-1 in 1992. In addition, he has supported two Shuttle missions from the ground, as Back-up Payload Specialist ad Crew Interface Coordinator during D-1 in 1984, and as Science Coordinator of D-2 in 1993.
Duque was selected for the ESA astronaut programme in 1992. He completed basic training at the European Astronaut Centre and at the Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia, and received his certification as a European Astronaut in December 1993.
ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy has been selected by NASA to fly on board Space Shuttle `Atlantis' on flight STS-66 this October. The mission, named ATLAS-3 (Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science), is one in a series of flights to study the Sun's energy and its effects on the Earth's climate and environment.
The ATLAS-3's payload will include a significant ESA contribution and a large input from European scientists. In addition, the mission will involve the deployment and retrieval of the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometer Telescope for the Atmosphere (CRISTA), which will explore the variability of the atmosphere.
As a mission specialist, Clervoy's main task will be to operate the Shuttle's robot arm to deploy the CRISTA-SPAS experiment and retrieve it again at the end of the mission. Clervoy, of French nationality, was selected to join ESA's astronaut corps in 1992. He has been training as a mission specialist, together with another ESA astronaut Maurizio Cheli, at NASA's Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston since mid-1992.
ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy, who will fly on ATLAS-3 in October
Following the success of the first Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights and Space Activities, which addressed issues from a European perspective, ESA and the European Centre for Space Law are organising a second workshop, this time with a worldwide perspective. It will be held in Paris on 5-6 December.
Intellectual property rights with regard to space activities raise a number of important legal questions, for example, with respect to ownership of intellectual property and protection of data. The objective of the second workshop is therefore to present a first analysis of legal and policy issues with regard to intellectual property rights and space activities in a world context. Invited experts, representing the major spacefaring nations, will present an overview of the different ways in which they deal with intellectual property issues. The purpose is to inform and stimulate awareness of the issues among representatives of public and private bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the European Patent Office, and the European Commission, and intellectual and industrial law firms, and to promote the need for an indepth, worldwide study on the possibility of elaborating a more harmonised legal environment.
Admittance to the workshop will be free of charge, but only a limited number of participants can be accommodated.
For more information, contact:
Valerie Kayser
Executive Secretary
European Centre for Space Law
8-10 rue Mario-Nikis
75738 Paris Cedex 15
Tel: (33)1 42.73.76.05
Fax:(33)1 42.73.75.60
Ariane-4 launches resumed on 17 June with Flight V64, followed by Flight V65 only three weeks later, on 8 July. Arianespace is planning to launch one flight every three weeks to make up for time lost after all launches were postponed pending the results of an investigation into the loss of Flight V63 in January.
On the first flight, the Ariane 44LP rocket (the version with two solid and two liquid strap-on boosters) placed three satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GEO). The Intelsat 702, the first of the Intelsat VII generation spacecraft, will provide international and regional communication services in the Atlantic Ocean region. The other two satellites launched, STRV 1A and 1B, are small US/British satellites dedicated to technology demonstration and scientific investigation. An original launch attempton 4 June had to be rescheduled after one of two robotic fuel lines failed to detach just seconds before launch.
On the second flight, an Ariane 44L (the version with four liquid strap-on boosters) placed two telecommunications satellites for use in the Asia Pacific region into GEO. The PanAmSat2, the first of the PanAmSat second generation satellites, will provide US communications and video broadcasting over the Pacific Ocean region, and the BS-3N will ensure that direct broadcast television services continue for NHK/Japan Satellite Broadcasting in Japan.
Space communications technology developed by ESA is helping Ukraine to minimise the risk of radioactive contamination. In a pilot project, trucks transporting nuclear waste are now being equipped with mobile terminals that transmit the location of the truck as well as the radiation level of its load via satellite to a control centre. Such mobile links are of vital importance to the transport of dangerous goods in the Ukraine because no public, land mobile networks are available.
With its five nuclear power stations and six large nuclear waste storage facilities, Ukraine is active in the transport of nuclear waste. In addition, the shutdown of the Chernobyl plant, now being discussed by the European Union and the G-7 countries, would involve the transport of large volumes of nuclear waste to storage facilities.
Two Prodat-2 terminals were installed in May 1994, and two more are being sent to Ukraine to expand the scope of the project. Prodat-2 terminals, which use ESA's Marecs-A satellite for this project, provide very secure links, are interconnectable with a wide range of public networks and offer a very short response time. They were developed by FIAR of Italy under ESA contract. The pilot project in Ukraine is being undertaken jointly by ESA, FIAR, the Ukranian Space Agency, the Ministry for Chernobyl, and the Institute of High Technology in Kiev.
The Ukranian authorities are very satisfied with the performance of Prodat-2 and are proposing to use the system for other purposes. For example, helicopters will now be equipped with Prodat terminals to allow them to transmit environmental data in realtime, for instance, to emergency response teams, in the case of an accident.
Typical mobile Prodat equipment that is installed in a truck, including the antenna (centre, back) and keyboard which the driver uses to send and receive messages
In the public's mind, ESA programmes are associated with satellites, the Ariane launchers, and advanced space science research. ESA is thus seen as advancing scientific knowledge about the universe, developing the technical capabilities of the European space industry, and establishing services, such as telecommunications and weather forecasting, that are of direct and daily use to the public.
ESA'sactivities, however, have another effect which is too often neglected: the stimulation of industry all over Europe. A recent, independent study has determined that for every 100 ECU that ESA spends on contracts with the European space industry, there is an economic spin-off worth 320 ECU . Part of this involves the transfer of technology developed for space to non-space sectors.
Industrial companies have also realised over the last 20 years that they can - and must - improve the efficiency with which they introduce new technology into their products. Technology transfer, the process of taking innovations from one domain and applying them to another, can provide a company with a leading edge. Technology developed for space and its extreme environment can provide such an edge.
The following are a few examples of spin-offs or technology transfer successes from space in Europe over the past 10 years:
These staples are positioned close to the bone fracture site in two pre-drilled holes. Body temperature then brings back the original `memory', producing the heat input to cause the two `legs' of the staple to draw together. This then brings together the ends of the broken bones, which not only reduces the time required for the bone to mend but can also assist with both axial and angular alignment.
Many more technologies that have been successfully transferred are described in the `ESA Success Stories Catalogue'.
To request a copy, contact:
Pierre Brisson
ESTEC
Postbox 299
2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Tel: (31)1719-84929
Fax:(31)1719-17400
On 8 July, the Space Shuttle `Columbia' took off from Kennedy Space Center to begin the 14-day second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission.
Like its predecessor, IML-1, this mission is almost completely dedicated to research in microgravity. More than 200 scientists from 15 countries are taking part in the mission. ESA has provided about 50% of the payload and four of the 19 on-board facilities.
During the mission, ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, is providing the scientific community with a means to communicate remotely with the experiments. It is acting as a communications hub linking the NASA Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to European user centres in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
The Shuttle is planned to land at Kennedy Space Center on 22 July.
One of the ESA facilities on board the IML-2 flight is the Biorack - a multi purpose and highly adaptable facility for the investigation of the effects of microgravity on cells, tissues, plants and other biological samples. The Biorack on IML-2 contains three incubators, a glovebox and a cooler-freezer unit that allow screw members to grow, handle and preserve biological samples for later investigation on Earth. This is the third time that the Biorack has flown.
During the mission, the Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) is staffed around the clock by four members of the Biorack Ground Team (BGT). Their tasks include replanning experiment operations and procedures, and communicating changes and comments from the principal investigators to the crew.
The following is a report from ESA's Project Scientist in the POCC.
Some of the BGT members arrived in the Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) two days before the scheduled launch date to setup the ground support equipment, which is mostly computers used for data acquisition and storage, and prepare everything for the mission.
The Biorack was activated five hours after launch, at 0/05:28 Mission Elapsed Time (MET), and both Incubators A and C as well as the new Biorack Cooler operated nominally. The loading of experiment containers holding biological samples into the Biorack started about seven hours after launch and was completed at 0/09:32 MET.
During the last steps of the first activity with the Adhesion experiment (at 0/12:38 MET), however, Centrifuge 1 in Incubator C malfunctioned and stopped running! This potentially very critical problem was quickly and very simply overcome by performing a malfunction procedure which called for the crew to put an elastic band around the two centrifuges, so that the operating one (Centrifuge 2) would drive the non-working one (Centrifuge 1). This contingency configuration only resulted in minor changes to the crew procedures. The elastic band was removed four days later, at 4/13:43 MET since only one centrifuge is needed in Incubator C for the rest of the mission.
Since then everything has been running smoothly. Eleven experiments have been nominally completed, and there is no reason to believe that the remaining ones will not also be completed successfully.
Claude Brillouet
Biorack Project Scientist
POCC, MSFC
Huntsville, Alabama
The Biorack with the incubator drawers and the cooler/freezer (top) open
The University of Plymouth (UK) has recently completed a study on ESA's behalf on the potential for satellite transmissions to Eastern Europe. Following a needs and feasibility analysis, 24 live programmes and 37 taped programmes were transmitted to Eastern European countries via ESA's Olympus satellite's steerable Ku band transponder.
The live programmes, transmitted from the University's television studio to the Institute of Radioelectronics in Kharkhov, the Ukraine, were on two subjects in great demand in Eastern Europe, business and computing. A unique feature of the project was that a fully interactive link with Kharkov was established using ESA's CODE information and dissemination system on a VSAT network. It enabled staff at the Institute to communicate live with the studio, using both voice and computer.
The taped programmes were specially edited from live new stransmissions by the University of Oxford Language Centre and were on such topics as the weather, farming and railways. They were received in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Romania and several areas of the former USSR.
The project was deemed to be a success and, given the demand for up-to-date information on business and technology, plans are now being made to continue transmissions on the widebeam of the Eutelsat satellite and possibly on Eastern European satellites.
The 19th annual meeting between ESA and Japan was held in ESA Headquarters in Paris on 6- 8 June. The previous meeting had been in Tokyo in 1993.
The two parties discussed the progress made in their respective space programmes over the past year, and expressed their intention to pursue more active and closer cooperation. The main areas of common interest are space science, telecommunications, Earth observation, space transportation, a space station, space experiments, product assurance and network operations .
Issues discussed included:
The next ESA/Japan meeting, the 20th, is scheduled to take place in Japan in 1995.
ESA and the Government of Greece signed an agreement in Athens on 4 July for cooperation in space research. This reflects ESA's political desire to expand its cooperation with other, non-member European States.
The five-year agreement involves regular exchanges of information, visits, awarding of fellowships, joint symposia, and access to databases and laboratories. It also outlines a mechanism for selecting and executing joint projects of mutual interest.
ESA has maintained informal relations with the Hellenic National Space Committee, which oversees Greece's space programme, for several years and has recently agreed to provide consultancy support to Greece's Hellas-Sat project.
J.-M.Luton (left), ESA's Director General, and G. Simitis (right), the Greek Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, sign the agreement on cooperation in space research. J. Charalambous (seated), the Greek Minister of Transport and Communications, looks on
NASA has several programmes that provide lunar materials for education, research, and public display. These samples are available for loan to Europeans.
Educational thin sections
NASA has prepared a package containing 12 thin sections of lunar material that are representative of the lunar collection, and a disk of six small, encapsulated lunar samples, which is available to colleges and universities offering a curriculum in the geosciences. Training materials, including a video tape and a workbook, accompany the package.
College or faculty members requiring further information should contact:
Lunar Sample Curator
SN
2 NASA/Johnson Space Center
Houston, TX 77058-3698
USA
Fax:(713)483-2911
Educational disks
Small samples of representative lunar rocks and soils, embedded in acrylic disks, are available for short-term loan to qualified school teachers. Each teacher must participate in a brief training programme before receiving a disk.
For further details, contact:
L. B. Bilbrough
FEE/Elementary & Secondary Education
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546
USA
Fax:(202)358-3048
Sample for research or public display
Through other programmes, NASA also provides lunar samples to approved investigators for both basic studies in planetary science and applied studies in lunar materials benefication and resource utilisation. It also lends rock samples for public display.
For more information, contact:
Dr. James L. Gooding
Lunar Sample Curator
SN2
NASA/Johson Space Center
Houston, TX 77058-3696
USA
Fax: (713)438-2911
Upon the invitation of the Swiss Government, ESA held an international workshop to consider the implementation of internationally coordinated programmes for robotic and human exploration of the Moon. Representatives from space agencies, scientific institutions and industry from around the world met in Beatenberg, Switzerland, from 31 May to 3 June, to discuss the plans.
The workshop participants stressed the opportunities offered by the exploration and utilisation of the Moon, and recognised its potential as a natural long-term space station. There is a great interest in the science of the Moon (illuminating the history of the unique Earth-Moon system ), science from the Moon (for astronomical projects), and science on the Moon (biological reactions to low gravity and the unique radiation environment).
It was agreed that the time is right, scientifically and technologically, for a lunar programme implemented in evolutionary phases. The first phases would involve using orbiters and landers with roving robots to explore the Moon's resources. The participants felt that this was within the capabilities of the various individual space agencies technically and financially. The benefits, however, would be greatly enhanced by close inter-agency coordination.
The participants also concluded that existing international space treaties already provide the necessary legal framework for scientific exploration and economic utilisation of the Moon, including the establishment of permanent scientific bases and observatories.
A second International Lunar Workshop will be held in mid-1996 to review progress and plans.
Prof. Hubert Curien, Co-Chairman of the International Lunar Workshop, addresses the participants
The launch on 6 October 1990 of the joint ESA-NASA Ulysses mission marked the start of a new era in the study of the heliosphere. For the first time since the dawn of the space age, in situ observations of heliospheric fields and particles are being made above the Sun's polar regions and over the full range of heliographic latitudes. From shortly after launch to the present, Ulysses has returned a data set of unprecedented completeness with which to study the properties of the solar wind, the heliospheric magnetic field, locally accelerated and solar energetic particles, cosmic rays, as well as important interstellar constituents, dust and neutral helium . The spacecraft also carries instrumentation to detect solar X-rays and cosmic gamma rays, and a radio science investigation to probe the solar corona.
`The High-Latitude Heliosphere' was the topic of the 28th ESLAB Symposium held in April in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and organised by ESA's Space Science Department. Attended by 130 scientists from Europe, North America and Africa, the symposium was directed toward placing the results obtained to date by Ulysses in the context of the current knowledge of the three-dimensional heliosphere. An equally important goal was to set the scene for the pass over the southern solar pole that Ulysses will make between June and November of this year (see `Ulysses Scientists to Celebrate First Polar Pass').
Topics covered during the three-day meeting included the global structure and dynamics of the heliosphere (in particular the solar wind and the heliospheric magnetic field), the relationship between heliospheric and coronal structure at high latitudes, heliospheric particle acceleration and propagation, cosmic ray modulation, radio and plasma waves in the three-dimensional heliosphere, cosmic dust and interstellar gas in the heliosphere, results from the out-of-ecliptic phase of the Ulysses mission, and correlated ground- and space-based observations .
The scientific programme consisted of a number of invited topical review papers, with over 70 contributed oral and poster papers. More than 50 of the papers discussed results from Ulysses.
L. A. Fisk delivered the symposium's keynote address. He pointed to four unifying themes in the study of the Sun and the heliosphere in three dimensions :
Fisk commented that the degree of progress made in each of these areas as a result of Ulysses will determine how kindly history willjudge the mission. He stressed that the measurements made during the prime mission of Ulysses apply only to solar minimum conditions, and that polar passes at solar maximum are essential in order to complete the picture.
In his summary talk at the closing of the symposium, M. Lee commented on the very impressive simplicity of the solar wind observed by Ulysses above the southern polar coronal hole. He stressed however that the fundamental problem of how the Sun's corona is heated is still far from being solved. Returning to Fisk's four themes, Lee gave his assessment of the progress made based on the results presented at the symposium. A clear winner was the category `general morphology', followed closely by `interstellar gas'.
In summary, this symosium very successfully achieved its goal of setting the scene for Ulysses' forthcoming polar passes. In addition, a strong case was made for continuing the Ulysses mission until 2001, i.e. for a second solar orbit, in order to obtain high-latitude observations at solar maximum .
On 13 September, after a journey of almost four years and 2000 million kilometres, ESA's Ulysses spacecraft will reach its maximum latitude during the first polar pass. From this unique vantage point, 80.2 degrees south of the Sun's equator, the scientific instruments onboard the spacecraft will obtain the first-ever measurements of the Sun's environment above the poles.
To celebrate this important milestone in the highly successful mission, the Ulysses science teams will gather at ESTEC in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, in the week of 12 September. For this closed workshop, the ESTEC conference centre will be transformed into a scientific laboratory, with each one of the Ulysses teams occupying its own dedicated work area. Computer connections will be established so that data from the various experiments can be transferred from the investigators' home institutes to workstations installed at ESTEC.
Although not likely to achieve quite the same impact with the public as a planetary or cometary encounter, the Ulysses Polar Pass is never the less a first in the history of space exploration, and the success of the mission is a tribute to all those in industry, the scientific institutions, and ESA who have contributed to the project. In short, an event worthy of celebration!
The Ulysses orbit and the spacecraft's position on 13 September 1994 (80.2 degrees south of the Sun's equator)
The births of the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) on 29 February 1964 and the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), just three weeks later, on 20 March 1964, marked the beginnings of the European endeavour in space. The European Space Agency, formed on 30 May 1975 by the merger of ESRO and ELDO, is the legacy of the handful of European `space pioneers' whose far-sighted endeavours brought those two Organisations into being in the early sixties.
ESRO 's early years
The birth of the European movement towards cooperative space research can be traced back to August 1959, when Prof. Edoardo Amaldi of Italy and Prof. Pierre Auger of France talked together in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris about collaborating on artificial earth satellites. The following January, at a Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Meeting in Nice, further discussions on the possibilities of a cooperative European venture in space research were held with other scientists, and the first clear concept for a European Organisation was born. In April 1960, at the invitation of The Royal Society, a more formal meeting in London was attended by scientists from ten European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom).
These various discussions culminated, in June 1960, in the formation in Paris of a study group known as the Groupe d'Etudes Européennes pour la Recherche Spatiale (GEERS); Sir Harrie Massey (UK) was elected Chairman and Prof. Pierre Auger was appointed Executive Secretary. The group's brief was to consider the establishment of a Preparatory Committee to investigate a joint European programme for space research and the terms of reference for such a Committee.
As a result of the study group's work, an Intergovernmental Conference was convened at the premses of CERN in Meyrin, near Geneva, on 28 November 1960. It was attended by officials from the 10 nations that had taken partin the earlier discussions, plus Spain, with Austria present as an Observer. On 1 December 1960, the last day of the Conference, the 11 participating nations signed the `Meyrin Agreement', setting up a `Preparatory Commission to study the possibilities of European collaboration in the field of space research' (Commission Préparatoire Européenne de Recherches Spatiales, or `COPERS').
COPERS' primary function was to draft a convention, a scientific and technical programme, a budget, financial rules, staff regulations and agreements with other organisations interested in space research, and to prepare for an Intergovernmental Meeting to establish the Organisation.
The Meyrin Agreement on COPERS entered into force on 27 February 1961, with the approval of six `Member States', whose financial contributions constituted the necessary 70% of the proposed first-year budget of $192 838. Although originally intended to last only one year, the Agreement was extended several times and COPERS continued to function until the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) came into being on 20 March 1964.
ELDO's early years
Following its decision in early 1960 to halt development of the Blue Streak missile, the British Government invited a number of European countries to cooperate in a European Organisation for the joint construction of a heavy satellite launcher,
which would use Blue Streak as its first stage. In January 1961, the UK authorities submitted more detailed proposals to the European states, in answer to which France suggested that a French rocket be used as the second stage of the planned vehicle. Subsequently these two Governments invited Belgium , Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to discuss the setting up of a European Organisation. As a result, a conference was held from 30 January to 2 February 1961 in Strasbourg. Turkey attended as Observers.
It was established that the Organisation's initial programme would be to develop a three-stage launcher and an initial series of satellite test vehicles. The first stage would be built by the UK, the second stage by France, and the third stage and the test satellite by the other members. Test firings would take place from Woomera in Australia.
Following the Strasbourg Conference, the British and French Governments went ahead with the drafting of a Convention, and this led to the convening of a Conference at Lancaster House in London on 30 October 1961. This was attended by representatives from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Norway, Sweden and Switzerland sent Observers.
It was decided at the Lancaster House Conference that the developmentand construction of the third stage of the proposed launcher would be carried out under German leadership. The first series of satellite test vehicles would be Italy's responsibility, while the down-range guidance system would be supplied by Belgium. The long-range telemetry links and auxiliary ground equipment were to be provided by The Netherlands.
The Convention for the Establishment of a European Organisation for the Development and Construction of Space Vehicle Launchers (ELDO) was eventually opened for signature in London and on 29 March 1962 seven countries signed it: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Denmark was granted Observer status.
The ELDO Convention entered into force on 29 February 1964.
ESRO
ELDO
ESA Bulletin Nr. 79.