Europa 2

Europa II ELDO-B

Mission Profile

The Europa 2 (Europa II, ELDO-B) was a four-stage European launch vehicle in the Europa family, developed under the ELDO programme as Europe's first attempt at an independent satellite launch capability. Standing 31.7 m tall with a 3.1 m core diameter and a liftoff mass of 112.1 tonnes, it generated 1,340 kN of liftoff thrust and could deliver 200 kg to low Earth orbit. First and only flying in November 1971 in a failed launch attempt from Kourou, the Europa 2's single failure contributed to the dissolution of ELDO and its replacement by ESA with the far more successful Ariane programme.