page_title: Europa (rocket)
section_title: First stage
hierarchical_section_title: Europa (rocket) / Design / First stage
caption_attribution_description: Suomi: Europa-kantoraketti belgialaisen Space Expon pihalla syksyllä 2006. English: Europa II Rocket at Space Expo in Brussels in 2006. Français&#160;: La fusée Europa 2 exposée à la Space Expo de Bruxelles en 2006.
context_page_description: The Europa rocket was an early expendable launch system of the European Launcher Development Organisation, which was the precursor to the European Space Agency. It was developed with the aim to delivering space access technology, and more specifically to facilitate the deployment of European-wide telecommunication and meteorological satellites into orbit.
  The Blue Streak missile predated the Europa programme, having originally been developed by Britain primarily for military purposes, however it was cancelled in 1960. Efforts to repurpose the Blue Streak, such as the studied Black Prince expendable launch system, eventually cumulated in the multinational Europa programme.
  Workshare on the programme was shared between the various members of the ELDO based upon their financial contributions. The Europa launcher itself primarily consisted of the Blue Streak, Coralie, and Astris rocket stages.
  The programme proceeded to perform multiple test launches, however these frequently resulted in partial failures. In addition, Britain decided to pull out of the ELDO organisation, and thus Europa, to instead focus on the rival British Black Arrow launcher instead.
context_section_description: It was tested three times in 1964, and also in 1965, with dummy upper stages in 1965. It was assisted by the British National Committee for Space Research. The chief project engineer of the rocket's assembly at the space projects division of Hawker Siddeley Dynamics was Dr Geoffrey Pardoe, also the project manager of Blue Streak from 1956 to 1960 (when under de Havilland). In August 1965, the Blue Streak was tested (static firing trial) with (complete full-weight) dummy upper stages at RAF Spadeadam (the site was owned by Rolls Royce), with first successful firing on 23 September 1965 lasting 135 seconds. Five days later the site was visited by the Minister of Aviation, Roy Jenkins.
  In January 1966, it had been transported to Adelaide, Australia, for launches later that year. Also in the UK in 1967 the go-ahead had been given for the UK's (separately developed) three-stage Black Arrow rocket launcher (made by Westland Aircraft, with Bristol Siddeley rocket engines developed at the Rocket Propulsion Establishment at Westcott, Buckinghamshire) - Britain did not need to rely on Europa, and Black Arrow would be ready first. Britain then withdrew from ELDO, to concentrate on the Black Arrow, but was committed to supplying ELDO with two Blue Streak rocket stages a year until 1976. At this time in 1969, Britain was spending £30 million a year on space, controlled from the Space Division of the Ministry of Technology. Britain was still dealing with, and funding, ESRO.
  Due to Britain's withdrawal in 1968, ELDO in June 1969 had other ideas than staying with the Blue Streak launcher for Europa's first stage, to give technical work to countries that were still (loyally) part of the organisation. Unfortunately, few other European countries had sufficiently advanced technical knowledge of rockets at that time. The Blue Streak had worked much more successfully than the other engine stages. Nonetheless Blue Streak, ELDO's most successful rocket to that date, was replaced. On 28 April 1970 at a meeting in Paris, ELDO replaced the Blue Streak with the French-made Diamant.  Britain's most significant involvement with the project came to an end. The following year Britain would put its own rocket programme, Black Arrow, (prematurely) out of operation.
  By 1970 Hawker Siddeley's Blue Streak launcher had cost £100 million to develop. It was still planned to be used on Europa until 1973, when Diamant would be used as the first stage.  Blue Streak was used for the Europa 2's one and only launch on 5 November 1971.
caption: Stages of the Europa 2 seen at the Space Expo in 2006 in Brussels
exif: {"Image Make": "PENTAX Corporation", "Image Model": "PENTAX Optio S5i", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2006:10:24 10:10:32", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "236", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "32004", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5847", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/640", "EXIF FNumber": "43/10", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:09:20 17:36:11", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:09:20 17:36:11", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "17/6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "14/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF SubSecTime": "319", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2560", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1920", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "31872", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0/0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "35", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "3"}