Editing European Space Agency (section)

===International Space Station===
{{See also|European contribution to the International Space Station}}
[[File:Columbus module delivered to KSC.jpg|thumb|''[[Columbus (ISS module)|ISS module Columbus]]'' at Kennedy Space Center's [[Space Station Processing Facility]]]]

With regard to the [[International Space Station]] (ISS), the ESA is not represented by all of its member states:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station/International_Space_Station_legal_framework |title=International Space Station legal framework |date=19 November 2013 |access-date=6 September 2014 |publisher=European Space Agency |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120180424/https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/International_Space_Station/International_Space_Station_legal_framework |url-status=live }}</ref> 11 of the 22 ESA member states currently participate in the project: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Austria, Finland and Ireland chose not to participate, because of lack of interest or concerns about the expense of the project. Portugal, Luxembourg, Greece, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Estonia and Hungary joined ESA after the agreement had been signed.

The ESA takes part in the construction and operation of the [[International Space Station|ISS]], with contributions such as [[Columbus (ISS module)|Columbus]], a science laboratory module that was brought into orbit by NASA's [[STS-122]] [[Space Shuttle]] mission, and the [[Cupola (ISS module)|Cupola]] observatory module that was completed in July 2005 by [[Alenia Aeronautica|Alenia Spazio]] for the ESA. The current estimates for the ISS are approaching €100&nbsp;billion in total (development, construction and 10 years of maintaining the station) of which the ESA has committed to paying €8&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web |title=International Space Station: How much does it cost? |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station/How_much_does_it_cost |date=9 August 2005 |access-date=6 September 2014 |publisher=European Space Agency |archive-date=4 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904014817/http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station/How_much_does_it_cost |url-status=live }}</ref> About 90% of the costs of the ESA's ISS share will be contributed by Germany (41%), France (28%) and Italy (20%). German ESA astronaut [[Thomas Reiter]] was the first long-term ISS crew member.

The ESA has developed the [[Automated Transfer Vehicle]] for ISS resupply. Each ATV has a cargo capacity of {{convert|7667|kg|lb}}.<ref name="atvspecs">{{cite web |url=http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/ATV/FS003_12_ATV_updated_launch_2008.pdf |title=Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Utilisation Relevant Data Rev. 1.2 |publisher=ESA ERASMUS User Centre |access-date=16 March 2008 |archive-date=16 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161216223216/http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/ATV/FS003_12_ATV_updated_launch_2008.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The first ATV, ''[[Jules Verne ATV|Jules Verne]]'', was launched on 9 March 2008 and on 3 April 2008 successfully docked with the ISS. This manoeuvre, considered a major technical feat, involved using automated systems to allow the ATV to track the ISS, moving at 27,000&nbsp;km/h, and attach itself with an accuracy of 2&nbsp;cm. Five vehicles were launched before the program ended with the launch of the fifth ATV, ''[[Georges Lemaître ATV|Georges Lemaître]]'', in 2014.<ref name="spaceflightnow">{{cite web |url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1204/02atvfuture/ |title=Breaking News &#124; ATV production terminated as decision on follow-on nears |publisher=Spaceflight Now |date=2 April 2012 |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-date=30 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030145327/https://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1204/02atvfuture/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of 2020, the spacecraft establishing supply links to the ISS are the Russian [[Progress spacecraft|Progress]] and [[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]], Japanese [[H-II Transfer Vehicle|Kounotori (HTV)]], and the United States vehicles [[SpaceX Dragon 2|Cargo Dragon 2]] and [[Cygnus (spacecraft)|Cygnus]] stemmed from the [[Commercial Resupply Services]] program.

European Life and Physical Sciences research on board the International Space Station (ISS) is mainly based on the [[European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences in Space]] programme that was initiated in 2001.