During the 1960s and 1970s, there was increasing recognition within European nations that an increasing level of international cooperation would be necessary in order to embark upon larger space projects. In 1973, the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) - a precursor to the European Space Agency (ESA) - commenced development of a new civilian heavy expendable launch system, later known as the Ariane rocket. Some members of the ESA, such as the French space agency Centre National D'études Spatiales (CNES), held ambitions of greater capability and autonomy in space affairs to avoid an overreliance upon external partners, such as the activities and decisions of NASA, and envisaged the deployment of a European-built human-capable space vehicle that would operate in conjunction with other ESA assets, such as Ariane.