The Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), in cooperation with the European Space Agency Archives in Frascati, Italy, have digitised a number of European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) and European Space Agency (ESA) files on the Aeronautical Satellite Programme (Aerosat). Aerosat was a proposed collaboration between ESRO, the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Government of Canada to develop an experimental satellite network for transatlantic air traffic control. Although the project was eventually interrupted, the files provide an interesting window onto early international scientific planning and collaboration in space technology.
Discussions for Aerosat began in the late 1960s, and on 2 August 1974 ESRO, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Government of Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch the project. The air traffic control project was organised into two areas: the first dealt with the development, production, launch, and seven-year operation of two satellites in outer space, while the second tackled coordination logistics on the ground such as the construction of aeronautical satellite communication centres, aeronautical service earth terminals, and avionics.
The digitised documents include notes and correspondence on the Aerosat Coordination Office (ACO); notes and reports on ACO activity; an arrangement concerning the execution of an Aeronautical Satellite Programme in different countries; satellite specifications of Aerosat Space Segment Programme Office; various reports and minutes of coordination meetings; and guidelines and proposed policies for including other countries in Aerosat, namely Australia and Japan. Furthermore, some documents shed light on ESRO’s dealings with the private American COMSAT corporation, an early actor in global telecommunications.
The newly digitised documents from Aerosat may be accessed in the database of the HAEU. The documents are mainly in English and French, with some German-language files.
The ESA archives at the HAEU
The HAEU has hosted the historical archives of the ESA since the signature of a first deposit agreement between the ESA and European University Institute on 12 May 1989. The two organisations have signed further agreements, the most recent being in December 2020. The ESA-related holdings comprise the European Conference on Satellite Communications (CETS), the European Preparatory Commission for Space Research (COPERS), the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO).