The world's first commercial space transportation company, created in 1980. It undertakes the operation of the Ariane programme and provides launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits.

A five-year Plan for European Cooperating States (PECS) is designed to prepare countries to join ESA as Associate Member states and later, pending Council approval, as full members. Associate Membership is a special cooperative status granted under Article XIV.1 and XIV.3 of the ESA Convention. Through signature of an Associate Membership Agreement, it allows the country to participate, in the same way as Member States, in any of the ESA optional programmes but does not grant access to the ESA Science programme.

British Aircraft Company

British National Committee on Space Research

Conférence Européenne des Postes et Télécommunications, European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations, coordinating body for European state telecommunications and postal organisations, created in 1959

Organisation européenne de recherches nucleaires (European Nuclear Research Organisation)

Conférence européenne pour les télécommunications par satellites, also European Conference on Satellite Communications (ECSC). Created in 1963, ceased activity in 1970.

Centre national d'etudes spatiales, the French government space agency

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Italian National Research Council

Centre national de la recherche scientifique, the French national centre for scientific research