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The
European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) was a multinational consortium formed in the 1960s to build an indigenous European space launch vehicle, Europa.
In April 1960 the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government cancelled its
Blue Streak missileThe Blue Streak missile was a British medium range ballistic missile . The Operational Requirement for the missile was issued in 1955 and the design was complete by 1957...
programme. Planned to be the first stage of a satellite launcher its development was almost complete. Britain proposed a collaboration with other European countries to build a three-stage launcher capable of placing a one-ton payload into low Earth orbit.
Consisting of
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
,
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
,
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, with
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
as an associate member.
Preliminary work began in 1962 and ELDO was formally signed into existence in 1964.
Britain with Blue Streak became the first stage of the European launch vehicle with France providing the Coralie second stage and Germany the third. Italy worked on the satellite project, the Netherlands and Belgium concentrated on tracking and telemetry systems and Australia supplied the launch site.
The first ten launches took place at
WoomeraThe town, or village, of Woomera is located in the south east corner of the Woomera Prohibited Area ; colloquially known as the Woomera Rocket Range...
in Australia and were designated with an F. The project was divided into three phases:
- Phase 1 (1964 - 1965) - Launches F1 - F3, the Blue Streak first stage launches northwest towards Talgarno.
- Phase 2 (1966 - 1967) - Launches F4 - F6/1 & F6/2, launches with satellite north towards Simpson Desert
The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth largest Australian desert, with an area of 176,500 km² ....
in the Northern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
.
- Phase 3 (1967 - 1970) - Launches F7 - F9, launches with satellite north reaching orbit. However the satellite failed to orbit at any stage.
A planned F10 launch never went ahead.
However, the Woomera launch site was not suitable for putting satellites into geosynchronous orbit, and in 1966 it was decided to move to the French site of
KourouKourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America.Kourou is the location of the Guiana Space Centre, France and ESA's main spaceport.-Geography:...
in
South AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. F11 was fired from here in November 1971, but the failure of the autopilot caused the vehicle to break up. The launch of F12 was postponed whilst a project review was carried out, which led to the decision to abandon the Europa design.
In 1974 the ELDO was merged with the European Space Research Organisation to form the
European Space AgencyThe European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
.