Founding of European Space Agency

The European Space Agency was created when two earlier European bodies, one for developing launchers and one for scientific space research, were combined into a single organisation by a convention opened for signature. Based in Paris, it coordinates the space programmes of its member states and operates facilities such as the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, from where the Ariane rockets fly. The agency has carried out scientific missions including Giotto, Rosetta and Gaia, contributed to the International Space Station, and trained its own astronauts. Its budgets come from national contributions, and it cooperates closely with NASA and other space agencies.

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