On 28th June 1999, ESA opened its Erasmus centre at ESTEC in the Netherlands. Erasmus has been designed as a user centre for the International Space Station [ISS] - in addition to television studio facilities, the site contains a multimedia library, virtual reality theatre and various models [including the Columbus Orbital Facility, or COF].
Broadcast from Erasmus on the inauguration day, this VNR contains the following footage: general views of the inauguration ceremony; interviews with ESA astronauts Wubbo Ockels [in English], Pedro Duque [in Spanish] and Ulf Merbold [in German]; archive footage of the construction of components for the ISS; soundbites from Mrs J.M. de Vries, Dutch State Secretary of Transport, Public Works and Water Management and Jorg Feustel-Beuchl, ESA Director of Manned Spaceflight; shots of the multimedia library and virtual reality centre; various models; graphics of the ISS and footage/graphics of the first year construction.