Tag: Airbus Defense and Space
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Iridium to share Falcon 9 launch with NASA-German gravity satellites
The first 10 Iridium Next satellites launched Jan. 14 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX Iridium has secured a launch for five more of its next-generation communications craft in a rideshare arrangement with two U.S.-German research satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket by early 2018. The announcement…
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SES 10 telecom satellite in Florida for launch on reused SpaceX rocket
A Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster descends to a propulsive landing on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean on April 8, 2016. The same booster is assigned to fly again next month with the SES 10 communications satellite. Credit: SpaceX A European-built communications satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral for fueling and final launch…
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Shuttle engine delivered to Orion service module assembly site
Orion’s service module engine undergoes vibration testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA A former space shuttle orbital maneuvering system engine has been delivered to Germany for attachment to the European-built service module destined to steer NASA’s next Orion spacecraft on a course around the moon on an uncrewed test flight in…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 lifts off on its first Galileo launch
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with four Galileo navigation satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Photos: Ariane 5 on its jungle launch pad with navigation payloads
Take a walk around the Ariane 5 launch pad in French Guiana after the 16-story rocket arrived at the complex for liftoff Thursday with four European Galileo navigation satellites. Read our launch preview for more information on the mission. Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016 Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016 Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016 Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016…
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Photos: Ariane 5’s trek to the launch pad for Galileo launch
An Ariane 5 rocket rolled out to its tropical launch pad in French Guiana this week leading up to Thursday’s launch of four Galileo navigation satellites for the European Commission. The 165-foot-tall (50-meter) rocket make the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) trip to the ELA-3 launch zone Tuesday mounted on a mobile launch platform. Four satellites for Europe’s…
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Europe’s navigation network turns to Ariane 5 for heavy-lifting
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin Four satellites fastened to the top of an Ariane 5 rocket will grow Europe’s space-based Galileo navigation network Thursday morning with a launch from the South American jungle. The spacecraft will ride a specially-modified Ariane 5 launcher to an orbital perch more than 14,000…
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Galileo navigation satellites mounted atop Ariane 5 for launch next week
The Ariane 5’s payload fairing (top) is lowered over the four Galileo satellites already fastened to their carrier module on the Ariane 5 upper stage. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon An Ariane 5 launcher uniquely modified to loft four of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites on one flight has received…
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India declares success on PSLV’s most complex mission
The PSLV lifted off at 0342 GMT Monday (11:42 p.m. EDT Sunday). Credit: ISRO Eight satellites blasted off Monday on top of an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, including an instrument to track tropical cyclones, a pathfinder for a U.S.-owned commercial Earth observation fleet, and multiple spacecraft for Algeria. The 14-story launcher lifted off at…
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Vega rocket hauls up quintet of Earth observation satellites
The Vega rocket blasted off at 0143:35 GMT Friday (9:43:35 p.m. EDT; 10:43:35 p.m. French Guiana time Thursday) from the Guiana Space Center. Credit: Arianespace Europe’s solid-fueled Vega booster vaulted away from a launch pad in the South American jungle late Thursday and deftly delivered five sharp-eyed Earth observation satellites into two different orbits for…