ELDO/ESRO/ESA:
Key dates 1960-2012
1960
1 December - Intergovernmental conference at Meyrin, Switzerland, setting up a European Preparatory Commission for Space Research (COPERS)
1962
29 March - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia (associate member) sign in London the Convention creating the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO)
14 June - Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom sign in Paris the Convention creating the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO)
1968
17 May - Launch of ESRO 2B intended to study cosmic rays and solar X-rays, the first successful satellite launch by ESRO
1971
20 December - First Package Deal which permits ESRO to pursue application programmes comes into effect
1973
12 and 31 July - Second Package Deal: The European Space Conference (ESC) meeting in Brussels decides the start of three new programmes: Spacelab, L3S (Ariane) and MAROTS and the creation of the European Space Agency (ESA)
1975
30 May - Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany (Federal Republic), Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom sign the Convention on the establishment of ESA
9 August - Launch of COS-B, first ESA mission to study gamma-ray sources
31 December - Ireland signs the ESA Convention and becomes ESA's 11th Member State
1977
Establishment of the Eutelsat (European Telecommunications Satellite Organization), an intergovernmental organisation by PTT administrations in Europe
23 November - Meteosat-1 is launched on a Thor Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral
1978
11 May - Launch of OTS-2 (Orbital Test Satellite-2), ESA's first comsat
1979
1 January - The first five-year Cooperation Agreement between Canada and ESA comes into effect
24 December - The first Ariane is launched from the Guiana Space Centre
1980
26 March - Arianespace, the world's first commercial space transportation company is created
3 July - Decision to upgrade Ariane to Ariane 3 designed to launch two satellites into GTO
1983
28 November - First Spacelab launch with Ulf Merbold, ESA's first astronaut on board the US Space Shuttle
1985
30-31 January - ESA Ministerial Council in Rome: ministers approve the start of preparatory work on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle
1986
13-14 March - Successful historic encounter of Giotto with Comet Halley
June - The Eumetsat Convention enters into force
1987
1 January - Austria and Norway become ESA's 12th and 13th Member States
9-10 November - ESA Ministerial Council in The Hague: ministers approve the development of Ariane 5
1988
29 September - Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the design, and development of the Space Station Freedom signed by ESA and NASA in Washington
15 June - Ariane 4 launched for the first time
1991
17 July - Launch of ERS-1
1995
1 January - Finland becomes ESA's 14th Member State
20 April - Launch of ERS-2
18-20 October - ESA Ministerial Council in Toulouse, France: ministers agree on the funding of Europe's contribution to the ISS
1996
4 June - Ariane 5's first test flight (Flight 501) fails and causes the loss of four Cluster spacecraft
1997
15 October - Cassini-Huygens launched from Cape Canaveral
1999
11-12 May - ESA Ministerial Council in Brussels which approved investments in major new programmes in the areas of telecommunications, navigation including the definition phase for the Galileo programme (in partnership with the European Union), and Earth observation
10 December - Launch of XMM-Newton by Ariane 5
2000
1 January - Portugal becomes ESA's 15th Member State
15 December - Approval of the development of the small launcher Vega
2002
1 March - Launch of Envisat by Ariane 5
11 March - Argentina signs Cooperation Agreement with ESA
28 August - Launch of MSG-1 by Ariane 5
11 December - First launch of Ariane 5 ECA (failure)
2003
15 February - Last flight of an Ariane 4 after 116 flights
7 April - Hungary becomes first ESA European Cooperating State
2 June - Mars Express, Europe's first mission to the 'Red Planet', launched from Baikonur
27 September - SMART-1, Europe's first mission to the Moon, launched by Ariane 5
25 November - Signature of the Framework Agreement between ESA and the European Community in Brussels
2004
4 February - Approval of the programme to build a complex at the Guiana Space Centre for commercial Soyuz launches
2 March - Launch of Rosetta from Kourou
24 November - Czech Republic becomes second ESA European Cooperating State
25 November - First ESA/EU 'Space Council' in Brussels
2005
14 January - Historic landing of Huygens probe on Titan
12 February - First successful launch of Ariane 5 ECA
16 March - Greece becomes ESA's 16th Member State
30 June - Luxembourg becomes ESA’s 17th Member State
9 November - Venus Express launched from Baikonur on a Starsem Soyuz-Fregat launcher
5/6 December - ESA Ministerial Council meeting in Berlin
28 December - Launch of first Galileo test satellite (GIOVE-A)
2006
27 February - Romania becomes third ESA European Cooperating State
19 October - Launch of MetOp-A from Baikonur
2007
26 February - Inauguration of Soyuz launch pad in Kourou. BepiColombo, the mission to explore planet Mercury, definitively 'adopted' by ESA’s Science Programme Committee
4 May - Poland becomes fourth ESA European Cooperating State
22 May - A consensus of 29 ESA/EU countries adopt a Resolution on European Space Policy
23 October - ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli and Node-2 module launched to ISS
2008
11 February - Columbus installed on ISS
9 March - ESA launches first ATV resupply spacecraft to ISS
27 April - Launch of ESA's second Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element satellite GIOVE-B
28 April - Poland becomes fourth European Cooperating State
9 June - Slovenia signs Cooperation Agreement with ESA
12 November - Czech Republic becomes 18th ESA Member State
25/26 November - ESA Ministerial Council in The Hague
2009
20 May - Six new ESA astronauts selected: two Italian, one French, one Dane, one German and one British
29 May - Sixth 'Space Council', Brussels
24 July - Latvia signs Cooperation Agreement with ESA
27 August - Cyprus signs Cooperation Agreement with ESA
10 November - Estonia becomes fifth European Cooperating State
2010
22 January - Slovenia becomes sixth European Cooperating State
12 February - European-built Node-3 and Cupola modules installed on ISS
8 April - ESA's 'ice mission', CryoSat-2, launched
28 April - Slovak Republic signs Cooperation Agreement with ESA
3 June - Mars500, 520-day simulated mission to Mars begins
7 October - Lithuania signs Cooperation Agreement with ESA
25 November - Seventh 'Space Council', Brussels
26 November - Hylas-1, ESA’s first PPP satellite launched
22 December - Romania becomes 19th ESA Member State
2011
31 January - Israel signs Cooperation Agreement with ESA
16 February - ESA's second ATV, ATV Johannes Kepler, launched to ISS
21 October - Soyuz lifts off for first time from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, carrying two Galileo IOV satellites
21 November - ESA’s Council grants observer status to 10 states that are members of the EU but not ESA: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
2012
20 February - Malta signs a Cooperation Agreement with ESA
23 March - ESA's third ATV, ATV Edoardo Amaldi launched to ISS
19 November - Poland formally becomes ESA's 20th Member State
20-21 November - Ministerial Council in Naples, ministers approve new launcher Ariane 6 and adapted Ariane 5 ME, and Europe will provide service module for NASA’s new Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle
18 December - New Deep Space Antenna station inaugurated at Malargüe, Argentina
Last update: 14 December 2012
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