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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 16th 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 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 Last update: 2 March 2012
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