ocr: YESTERDAY ESA'S PREDECESSORS, ESRO AND ELDO The idea of an independent European space organisation began int 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, Swe- den, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The new organisation replaced its two predecessors, the European Space Research Or- ganisation (ESRO), - - and the European Launcher Development Or- ganisation (ELDO). On 31 December 1975, Ireland became ESA's 11th Member State. On 1 January 1987, Aust ...
