What launcher was used by the European Space Agency, the first of which was sucessfully launched in 1979?
European Space Agency whole project was scrapped in favor of Ariane 6, planned to replace Ariane 5 in the 2020s. ESA's Ariane 1, 2, 3 and 4 launchers (the last of which was ESA's long-time workhorse) have been retired. Soyuz-2 (also called the Soyuz-ST or Soyuz-STK) is a Russian medium payload launcher (ca. 3 metric tons to GTO) which was brought into ESA service in October 2011. ESA entered into a €340 million joint venture with the Russian Federal Space Agency over the use of the Soyuz launcher. Under the agreement, the Russian agency manufactures Soyuz rocket parts for ESA, which are then
Enlargement of the European Space Agency Enlargement of the European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) in was founded in 1975 when the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) merged with the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO). The ESA Convention was signed by the ESRO and ELDO members on 30 May 1975 and by Ireland on 31 December 1975. Canada signed a Cooperation Agreement on 9 December 1978. The Convention entered into force on 30 October 1980 after the ratification procedures in the 10 ESRO/ELDO members were finalised. The current membership of the European Space Agency includes 22 member states, one associate member and one cooperating