Editing European Space Agency (section)

==Human space flight==
{{See also|European Astronaut Corps}}
===Formation and development===
[[File:Ulf D. Merbold.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ulf Merbold]] became the first ESA astronaut to fly into space.]]
At the time the ESA was formed, its main goals did not encompass human space flight; rather it considered itself to be primarily a scientific research organisation for uncrewed space exploration in contrast to its American and Soviet counterparts. It is therefore not surprising that the first non-Soviet European in space was not an ESA astronaut on a European space craft; it was [[Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovak]] [[Vladimír Remek]] who in 1978 became the first non-Soviet or American in space (the first man in space being [[Yuri Gagarin]] of the Soviet Union) – on a [[Soviet space programme|Soviet]] [[Soyuz spacecraft]], followed by the [[Polish people|Pole]] [[Mirosław Hermaszewski]] and East German [[Sigmund Jähn]] in the same year. This Soviet co-operation programme, known as [[Intercosmos]], primarily involved the participation of [[Eastern bloc]] countries. In 1982, however, [[Jean-Loup Chrétien]] became the first [[Western Bloc|non-Communist Bloc]] astronaut on a flight to the Soviet [[Salyut 7]] space station.

Because Chrétien did not officially fly into space as an ESA astronaut, but rather as a member of the French [[CNES]] astronaut corps, the German [[Ulf Merbold]] is considered the first ESA astronaut to fly into space. He participated in the [[STS-9]] [[Space Shuttle]] mission that included the first use of the European-built [[Spacelab]] in 1983. STS-9 marked the beginning of an extensive ESA/NASA joint partnership that included dozens of space flights of ESA astronauts in the following years. Some of these missions with Spacelab were fully funded and organisationally and scientifically controlled by the ESA (such as two missions by Germany and one by Japan) with European astronauts as full crew members rather than guests on board. Beside paying for Spacelab flights and seats on the shuttles, the ESA continued its human space flight co-operation with the [[Soviet Union]] and later Russia, including numerous visits to [[Mir]].

During the latter half of the 1980s, European human space flights changed from being the exception to routine and therefore, in 1990, the [[European Astronaut Centre]] in [[Cologne]], Germany was established. It selects and trains prospective astronauts and is responsible for the co-ordination with international partners, especially with regard to the [[International Space Station]]. As of 2006, the ESA astronaut corps officially included twelve members, including nationals from most large European countries except the United Kingdom.

In 2008, the ESA started to recruit new astronauts so that final selection would be due in spring 2009. Almost 10,000 people registered as astronaut candidates before registration ended in June 2008. 8,413 fulfilled the initial application criteria. Of the applicants, 918 were chosen to take part in the first stage of psychological testing, which narrowed down the field to 192. After two-stage psychological tests and medical evaluation in early 2009, as well as formal interviews, six new members of the [[European Astronaut Corps]] were selected – five men and one woman.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Closing_in_on_new_astronauts |title=Closing in on new astronauts |date=24 September 2008 |access-date=6 September 2014 |publisher=European Space Agency |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924040507/http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Closing_in_on_new_astronauts |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Crew vehicles===
In the 1980s, France pressed for an independent European crew launch vehicle. Around 1978, it was decided to pursue a reusable spacecraft model and starting in November 1987 a project to create a mini-shuttle by the name of [[Hermes (shuttle)|Hermes]] was introduced. The craft was comparable to early proposals for the [[Space Shuttle]] and consisted of a small reusable spaceship that would carry 3 to 5 astronauts and 3 to 4 metric tons of payload for scientific experiments. With a total maximum weight of 21 metric tons it would have been launched on the [[Ariane 5]] rocket, which was being developed at that time. It was planned solely for use in [[low Earth orbit]] space flights. The planning and pre-development phase concluded in 1991; the production phase was never fully implemented because at that time the political landscape had changed significantly. With the fall of the [[Soviet Union]], the ESA looked forward to co-operation with Russia to build a next-generation space vehicle. Thus the Hermes programme was cancelled in 1995 after about 3&nbsp;billion dollars had been spent. The [[Columbus Man-Tended Free Flyer|Columbus space station programme]] had a similar fate.

In the 21st century, the ESA started new programmes in order to create its own crew vehicles, most notable among its various projects and proposals is [[Hopper (spacecraft)|Hopper]], whose prototype by [[Airbus|EADS]], called [[EADS Phoenix|Phoenix]], has already been tested. While projects such as [[Hopper (spacecraft)|Hopper]] are neither concrete nor to be realised within the next decade, other possibilities for human spaceflight in co-operation with the [[Russian Space Agency]] have emerged. Following talks with the [[Russian Space Agency]] in 2004 and June 2005,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/space/article/0,14493,1489679,00.html |date=22 May 2005 |title=Europe to hitch space ride on Russia's rocket |first=Robin |last=McKie |work=[[The Observer]] |access-date=14 December 2016 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416152340/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/22/russia.science |url-status=live }}</ref> a co-operation between the ESA and the [[Russian Space Agency]] was announced to jointly work on the Russian-designed [[Kliper]], a reusable spacecraft that would be available for space travel beyond LEO (e.g. the moon or even Mars). It was speculated that Europe would finance part of it. A €50&nbsp;million participation study for Kliper, which was expected to be approved in December 2005, was finally not approved by ESA member states. The Russian state tender for the project was subsequently cancelled in 2006.

In June 2006, ESA member states granted 15&nbsp;million to the [[CSTS|Crew Space Transportation System]] (CSTS) study, a two-year study to design a spacecraft capable of going beyond Low-Earth orbit based on the current [[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]] design. This project was pursued with [[Roskosmos]] instead of the cancelled Kliper proposal. A decision on the actual implementation and construction of the CSTS spacecraft was contemplated for 2008.
In mid-2009 EADS Astrium was awarded a €21&nbsp;million study into designing a crew vehicle based on the European ATV which is believed to now be the basis of the Advanced Crew Transportation System design.<ref>{{cite web |last=Coppinger |first=Rob |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2009/07/picture-eads-astrium-wins-21-m.html |title=EADS Astrium wins €21 million reentry vehicle study |publisher=Flightglobal.com |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809071543/http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2009/07/picture-eads-astrium-wins-21-m.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2012, the ESA decided to join NASA's [[Orion (spacecraft)|Orion programme]]. The ATV would form the basis of a propulsion unit for NASA's new crewed spacecraft. The ESA may also seek to work with NASA on Orion's launch system as well in order to secure a seat on the spacecraft for its own astronauts.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/17/britons-could-explore-deep-space |title=Project Orion raises hopes that Britain could have its own man on the moon |newspaper=The Observer |date=17 November 2012 |author=Robin McKie |access-date=3 September 2014 |archive-date=12 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112123021/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/17/britons-could-explore-deep-space |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2014, the ESA signed an agreement with [[Sierra Nevada Corporation]] for co-operation in [[Dream Chaser]] project. Further studies on the Dream Chaser for European Utilization or [[DC4EU]] project were funded, including the feasibility of launching a Europeanised Dream Chaser onboard Ariane 5.<ref name="ESA signs agreement 2014">
{{cite news |last=Clark |first=Stephen |title=Europe eyes cooperation on Dream Chaser space plane |url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1401/08dreamchaser/ |access-date=9 January 2014 |newspaper=Spaceflight Now |date=8 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109145644/http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1401/08dreamchaser/ |archive-date=9 January 2014 |url-status=live }}
</ref><ref name="IBDM">{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/One_docking_ring_to_rule_them_all |title=One docking ring to rule them all |publisher=ESA |date=3 June 2014 |access-date=3 September 2014 |archive-date=10 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910211628/http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/One_docking_ring_to_rule_them_all |url-status=live }}</ref>