ESA

Abbreviation meaning European Space Agency.

ESA's purpose shall be to provide for, and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among European States in space research and technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operational space applications systems: space policy, by recommending space objectives to the Member States, and by concerting the policies of the Member States with respect to other national and international organisations and institutions; programmes in the space field; national programmes, and by integrating the latter progressively and as completely as possible into the European space programme, in particular as    regards the development of applications satellites; appropriate to its programme and by recommending a coherent industrial policy to the Member States.
 * by elaborating and implementing a long-term European
 * by elaborating and implementing activities and
 * by coordinating the European space programme and
 * by elaborating and implementing the industrial policy

(excerpt from Article II, Purpose, Convention of establishment of a European Space Agency, SP-1271(E), 2003) OTT