section_path: Spacefaring/Uncrewed spacefaring nations
section_name: Uncrewed spacefaring nations
paragraph_text: Uncrewed spacefaring nations
  
  The following nations or organizations have developed their own launch vehicles to launch uncrewed spacecraft into orbit either from their own territory or with foreign assistance (date of first launch in parentheses):
  
  Also several countries, such as Canada, Italy, and Australia, had semi-independent spacefaring capability, launching locally-built satellites on foreign launchers. Canada had designed and built satellites (Alouette 1 and 2) in 1962 and 1965 which were orbited using U.S. launch vehicles. Italy has designed and built several satellites, as well as pressurized modules for the International Space Station. Early Italian satellites were launched using vehicles provided by NASA, first from Wallops Flight Facility in 1964 and then from a spaceport in Kenya (San Marco Platform) between 1967 and 1988; Italy has led the development of the Vega rocket programme within the European Space Agency since 1998. The United Kingdom abandoned its independent space launch program in 1972 in favour of co-operating with the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) on launch technologies until 1974. Australia abandoned its launcher program shortly after the successful launch of WRESAT, and became the only non-European member of ELDO.