Ireland joins space race in 1978

IRELAND joined the space race in 1978 with a government decision to provide funds for Europe’s Ariane rocket programme.

A memorandum endorsing entry to the scheme which brought together eleven European states was presented to government by minister for foreign affairs Micheal O’Kennedy on July 20, 1978.

The aim was to give Europe an “independent launch capability” for satellites and “be in a position to capture a share of the world wide launcher market which has been dominated by the US and the USSR”.

Ireland was a late arrival to the project, having failed to sign up for the costly development phase, begun in 1973.

And it was not a desire to reach the stars which fuelled Irish interest as the memorandum indicates: “the main benefits of participation in Ariane is that at minimal cost Irish industry would have an opportunity to participate in a high technology programme from which it would acquire new skills and technologies which would otherwise be almost impossible to obtain.”

The French were the main movers behind the scheme, funding 62.5% of the developmental phase and were anxious to have Ireland involved, proposing with the “informal agreement of other participants” that Ireland join for the later phases “without having to pay any contribution to the expensive development phase.”

This French eagerness, the Department of Foreign Affairs believed, was driven by political considerations. The French government — “which is the real sponsor of Ariane” — placed importance on all states that had signed up to the European Space Agency participating in Ariane.

The memorandum noted “as proof of their conviction... the French government has taken work packages from French industry and offered them to Irish industry”.

The Irish government estimated that the 0.23% it was being asked to contribute to the programme would amount to £94,000 over the next five years.

In the period since 1976 when Ireland had signed an “interim agreement” the country contributed £450,000 through the National Board of Science and Technology to the European Space Agency (ESA). In return it was estimated that Irish firms obtained ESA contracts to the value of £800,000.

The Ariane project continues today but has been plagued by problems with failed launches and has never succeeded in seriously rivalling Nasa’s space programme.