Astronomy: Europa II

The Europa program was the first initiative of united European countries for transporting satellites into space. It was started in the 1960s and was followed by the Ariane program. Different countries provided the parts for this Europa II: the first stage (Blue Streak) came from the United Kingdom the second stage (Coralie) came from France the third stage (Astris) was built in the former West-Germany an Italian satellite was housed inside the white top The two engines in the first stage were designed and manufactured by Rolls Royce, the only European constructor which built space engines. This type of rocket did not reach the speed of 7.8 km/sec, necessary to escape from Earth's gravity. But, the development of the Ariane rocket was the next step, succesfully built after the experiences with these Europa rockets.

The stages were constructed by several countries, which can be seen on this photo by the different colour of each stage. Picture taken on 27 May 2006 at the Euro Space Center in Belgium. The Rolls Royce engines of the Europa II rocket < JPG-image 1056 X 1408 pixels >