  During some thirty years, 1980-2010, technical studies of optical
interferometry from instruments in space were pursued as promising for higher
spatial resolution and for higher astrometric accuracy. Nulling interferometry
was studied for both high spatial resolution and high contrast. These studies
were great dreams deserving further historical attention. ESA's interest in
interferometry began in the early 1980s. The studies of optical interferometry
for the global astrometry mission GAIA began in 1993 and ended in 1998 when
interferometry was dropped as unsuited for the purpose, and the Gaia mission to
be launched in 2013 is not based on interferometry. \c{opyright} Anita
Publications. All rights reserved.
