ESA's GEOS 1 and 2 satellites were dedicated to the study of the Earth's magnetosphere. GEOS 1, aimed to be Europe's first scientific geosynchronous satellite, ended up in the wrong orbit because of a performance anomaly of the Delta launcher in April 1977. However, ESA decided to launch the spare spacecraft as GEOS 2, which was put into the correct orbit in July 1978. This was a very successful mission (and GEOS 1 also returned useful data nevertheless). Both spacecraft were launched from the Eastern Test Range (Cape Canaveral/Cape Kennedy), near Cocoa Beach, Florida. After many heavy days of testing and launch preparations, some well deserved time of rest and relaxation was enjoyed at Disneyworld and other parks in the area!

GEOS launch