Tag: Airbus
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Airbus, Leonardo and Thales agree to form new European company
Technicians with the European Space Agency and Airbus/Airbus Netherlands are shown performing an illumination test on one of the solar array wing panels during installation on the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 30, 2020. The solar…
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ESA’s Biomass mission launches aboard Vega-C
The European Space Agency’s seventh Earth Explorer mission, Biomass, launched on Tuesday aboard an Arianespace Vega-C rocket. Biomass, which will study Earth’s forests and their impact on the planet’s climate, lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 09:15 UTC (6:15 AM local time). The Earth Explorer missions are part of the Living Planet Programme (LPP),…
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Here’s how a satellite ended up as a ghostly apparition on Google Earth
Dig deep on Google Earth and you’ll inevitably find a surprise or two. Maybe you’re looking at far-flung islands in the middle of an ocean or checking in on something closer to home. A few years ago, online sleuths found an image of a B-2 stealth bomber in flight over Missouri. The aircraft is smeared…
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Europe has the worst imaginable idea to counter SpaceX’s launch dominance
It is not difficult to understand the unease on the European continent about the rise of SpaceX and its controversial founder, Elon Musk. SpaceX has surpassed the European Space Agency and its institutional partners in almost every way when it comes to accessing space and providing secure communications. Last year, for example, SpaceX launched 134…
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Airbus Wins $2.5 Billion Contract for German Military Satellites
Airbus Defense and Space has secured a $2.5 billion contract from the German military to develop and deliver next-generation communications satellites, known as SATCOMBw 3, aimed at bolstering the Bundeswehr’s satellite communications system. Announced on July 4, the deal encompasses the development and deployment of two geostationary satellites, along with upgrades to the ground segment,…
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Airbus Sends Sentinel-2C Satellite to French Guiana for Launch Preparations
Airbus has commenced the journey of the Sentinel-2C satellite, the third in the Copernicus Sentinel-2 series, from its production site in Friedrichshafen to Bremen on July 2, before embarking on a maritime voyage to the European spaceport in French Guiana. The satellite container was loaded onto Canopée, a sail-assisted cargo ship designed for transporting Ariane…
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SpaceX has launched the EarthCARE climate research satellite for ESA and JAXA
The joint European-Japanese EarthCARE satellite has begun its mission to improve our understanding of Earth’s climate Tuesday, with a launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 3:20 PM Pacific Time (22:20 UTC). The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer…
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Lockheed Martin, NASA working around the clock to finish Artemis II Orion assembly and hold 2024 launch date
The Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission is nearing final assembly and testing at prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) production facility. After a final standalone test on the Orion crew module (CM), it is expected to be mated to the service module (SM) in mid-September. If there are no problems in…
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Trans-Atlantic joint venture aims to build new “international” space station
Voyager Space, one of several US companies formulating concepts for new commercial space stations, has established a joint venture with Airbus to co-develop an Earth-orbiting research outpost called Starlab. The companies announced the joint venture Wednesday, saying they plan to field a successor to the International Space Station. “The US-led joint venture will bring together…
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ESA’s Aeolus assisted reentry is ‘pushing the limits’ of space tech and safety
The only satellite to measure the globe’s wind profile from space, Aeolus, has concluded its mission and returned to Earth through a first-of-its-kind assisted reentry on Friday, July 28. The satellite exceeded its mission by two years since its launch in 2018, and with limited propellant left over, ground teams were able to lower the…