The idea of an independent European space organisation began in the early 1960s.
ESA was formally born on 31 May 1975, with the signing of the ESA Convention. The founding Member States were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The new organisation replaced its two predecessors, the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), and the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO).
On 31 December 1975, Ireland became ESA's 11th Member State. On 1 January 1987, Austria and Norway joined ESA and Finland became the Agency's 14th Member State on 1 January 1995. Canada has a special cooperative agreement with ESA.
