Therefore, a delay of a few years might be expected before ASAP opportunities begin on Ariane 5 after Ariane 4 has been phased out. 3.2 Columbus Precursor Missions Following the Ministerial level meeting in Munich. ESA was given approval to conduct additional missions using the Eureca and Spacelab hardware as precursors to the Columbus and International Space Station programs. These missions are currently planned to occur as follows: • Eureca-2 1995 • Spacelab E-l 1995 • Eureca-3 1997 • Spacelab E-2 1997/98 (not yet approved) The possibilities of performing the Powersat demonstration mission within the context of the launch opportunities Eureca and Spacelab present are discussed below. 3.2.1 Eureca -3 Mission Opportunities Eureca is designed as a multi-disciplinary platform that is launched on one Shuttle mission, left to function autonomously for six to nine months, and is then recovered and returned to Earth by a later Shuttle mission (Figure 3.2-1). The intention is to then refurbish the platform, integrate new experiments and fly it again. The first mission was originally planned for 1987. but now is unlikely to occur before late 1992. The first re-flight (Eureca-2) is tentatively scheduled for 1995. while the second (Eureca-3) is tentatively planned for 1997. Potentially, it should be possible to utilise one or more of the 16 available equipment support panels on the top and at either end of Eureca. The Eureca
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