European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) is the organization responsible for all the space-related transports and missions designed by the European Economic Community.

Overview
The ESA began its ventures into deep space in 1995, partnering with the Pan-African Alliance to construct a mass driver on Mount Kilimanjaro. It sided with the Soviet Union during the First Orbit War of 2008, claiming victory over the United States of America after its colony of Tycho on Luna dropped a two-ton rock on Colorado Springs and decapitated US military leadership.

In 2009, having discovered a Defense Intelligence Agency plot to take over the Crystal Palace, under construction at the time, a five-ton rock was dropped off the coast of Washington, D.C. as a warning. After the Crystal Palace's completion in 2011, another ESA venture had succeeded, reaching Mars with the help of the USSR, although the planet was shortly abandoned after. By 2013 and 2020, the ESA was the world's largest and most advanced space faring organization, being an outgrowth of the European Economic Community, as well as recent USSR overtures. The organization had the most power and control of all space-related activity. By that time, there had been a lot of stress and conflict over the ESA's power in orbit, but the matter had been reduced by more joint projects the Neo-USSR and JAB (the Japanese Aerospace Bureau).

Despite some loss of its technological lead over the other space powers, especially the Japanese, the ESA continued on as it had.

The agency had become very worried by the aggressive US stance in orbit tied the loss of their technological lead, becoming more interested in construction of military vessels, specifically gunships, to counter the possible threat from the US's military vessels.

By 2045, many ESA colonies had been lost to the Highriders, being battered over by the Fourth Corporate War.

In 2077, senior Arasaka counterintelligence operative Arthur Jenkins ordered a cyberattack against the European Space Council during a voting session over whether to revoke Arasaka's license to bases in the Sea of Clouds on Luna. The resulting deaths of several council members delayed the vote for at least a week.