History of ELGRA

How ELGRA was founded
(the paragraphs in italic were published in ELGRA News No. 1 in May 1980)

In December 1978, Dr. A. Lebeau, then ESA's Deputy Director General and Director of Planning and Future Programmes, Dr. H.S. Wolff, Chairman of the Life Sciences Working Group and Prof. H. Weiss, then Chairman of the Materials Science Working Group, conceived the idea of forming an association of European scientists with the aim of furthering their interest in exploration, research and development of their sciences in a low gravity environment.

It has, for some years now, been recognized that the availability of a low effective gravitational field aboard orbiting spacecrafts for prolonged periods provides a basic "tool" for research in Life and Materials Sciences. Such research can be of fundamental nature but must necessarily remain largely unexplored when limited to the Earth's surface.

The advent of Spacelab and the possibility of research in low gravity environment on other platforms such as Ariane and Texus rockets has led to a widening European interest in this type of research, still unparalleled in any other part of the world.

Some 250 experiments for research under microgravity conditions have been proposed by European scientists.

Most scientists, if not all, are working in isolation and not only have to plan and execute the science of their experiment but also have to plan the management, the integration of their apparatus in the carrier and the independent operation of it. As experimenters are widely dispersed geographically, the formation of an "association" seemed opportune if not urgent in order to foster the cooperation and the coordination that is essential for success, and to provide the ground-base for an advisory and information service.

During the "Materials Science in Space" symposium held in the spring of 1979 at Grenoble a group of seven scientists: Prof. F. Bonde-Petersen (Denmark), Dr. Y. Malméjac (France), Prof. L.G. Napolitano (Italy), Dr. J.F. Padday (UK), Dr. Stott (UK), Prof. H. Weiss Germany), and Dr. H.S. Wolff (UK), representing both Life and Materials sciences and referred to as the "Founding Fathers", convened a meeting of experimenters and interested persons to discuss the formation of a "European Low Gravity Research Association" (ELGRA).

Prof.H. Weiss

The meeting resulted in a mandate permitting the Founding Fathers to proceed with the formation of ELGRA and to register its office in Munich. Munich was chosen as, by German law, the Association would not be restricted in any way, and also because
Prof. H. Weiss, the provisional Chairman who was prepared and willing to draft the statutes of the Association, lived in Munich.

The Founding Fathers" met in Harrow (near London) on June 18, 1979 and gave their signatures to the draft constitution.

At the 1^st General Assembly held on September 9, 1979 in Munich (during the 30^th  IAF Congress) the registration documents were ratified and Prof. Herbert Weiss was elected the first president. On November 22, 1979 ELGRA was registered in Munich under number 9702.

For several years ELGRA was a study group of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Since it was founded, the European Space Agency (ESA) supports ELGRA.

In spring 1980, ELGRA had 38 full and 19 associate members. The following persons who are still members today were among the very first ELGRA members :

Presidents of ELGRA