After the failure of the Europa launcher, the European space programme took a new direction in 1973 with Ariane, a three-stage launcher which gave Europe an independent launch facility. The newly created European Space Agency finalised the project and the first launch took place at the Kourou site in French Guyana on 24 December 1979. The objective was clearly commercial: offer a launch service backed by a comprehensive range of launchers tailored to the space market. Ariane 2, 3 and 4 followed, enabling 144 launches through to 2003. Ariane 5, the youngest member of the "family", has participated in 36 launches since 1998