On May 30, 1975, the European Space Agency officially opened for business.
The European Space Agency was created as a merger of the European Launcher Development Organization, or ELDO, and the European Space Research Organisation, ESRO. Both ELDO and ESRO were established in the 1960s to unify the space-related activities of European nations. After World War II, a lot of European rocket scientists left to work in the United States. This made it difficult for small countries in Europe to compete with the space programs of the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which were the two big superpowers in the world of spaceflight. So, the Europeans united to create ELDO and ESRO. ELDO handled launch operations while ESRO handled the science. In 1975, they decided to unite those two organizations as well. The European Space Agency was officially founded with the signing of the ESA Convention on May 30, 1975, and the agency began operations the next day.
The European Space Agency was created as a merger of the European Launcher Development Organization, or ELDO, and the European Space Research Organisation, ESRO. Both ELDO and ESRO were established in the 1960s to unify the space-related activities of European nations. After World War II, a lot of European rocket scientists left to work in the United States. This made it difficult for small countries in Europe to compete with the space programs of the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which were the two big superpowers in the world of spaceflight. So, the Europeans united to create ELDO and ESRO. ELDO handled launch operations while ESRO handled the science. In 1975, they decided to unite those two organizations as well. The European Space Agency was officially founded with the signing of the ESA Convention on May 30, 1975, and the agency began operations the next day.
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TechTranscript
00:00On this day in space. On May 30th 1975 the European Space Agency officially
00:07opened for business. The European Space Agency was created as a merger of the
00:11European Launcher Development Organization or ELDO and the European
00:15Space Research Organization ESRO. Both ELDO and ESRO were established in the
00:211960s to unify the space-related activities of European nations. After
00:26World War II a lot of European rocket scientists left to work in the United
00:29States. This made it difficult for small countries in Europe to compete with the
00:32space agencies of the US and the Soviet Union which were the two big superpowers
00:36in the world of spaceflight. So the Europeans united to create ELDO and ESRO.
00:42ELDO handled launch operations while ESRO handled the science. In 1975 they
00:49decided to unite those two organizations as well. The European Space Agency was
00:53officially founded with the signing of the ESA convention on May 30th 1975 and the
00:58agency began operations the next day. And that's what happened on this day in space.