Tag: Ariane 5
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NASA, ESA, CSA successfully launch the historic James Webb Space Telescope
It is a mission more than 25 years in the making. The revolutionary JWST (James Webb Space Telescope)—a partnership between NASA, the ESA (European Space Agency), and the CSA (Canadian Space Agency)— has launched atop its Ariane 5 rocket from launchpad ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre in South America. Liftoff of James Webb occurred…
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High cost, high risk, high hopes: There’s a lot riding on the $10B James Webb Space Telescope’s launch
An Ariane 5 rocket is set to launch NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (NASA Photo / Bill Ingalls) The launch of NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana could mark a triumph in a tale that thousands of astronomers have been following for a generation. Or it could result in the deepest…
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Unfolding the universe: the commissioning process of the James Webb Space Telescope
This December, an Ariane 5 rocket will launch from Kourou, French Guiana carrying the most complicated telescope ever developed — the joint NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. However, when the telescope launches, it will not immediately be ready for scientific observations. In fact, the telescope won’t perform any observations until about six months after launch.…
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Ariane 5 launches civilian, military satellites; mission to clear way for James Webb launch
In an important prelude to the James Webb Space Telescope launch, planned for no earlier than mid-December, the Ariane 5 rocket has made its second flight of 2021 and its 111th mission overall with the VA255 flight to take two communication satellites into a geostationary transfer orbit. Liftoff from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre…
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Ariane 5 lofts two satellites in important lead-up to James Webb launch
Close to one year after its last flight, the Ariane 5 ECA has returned to service with its first launch of 2021, lifting off at 21:00 UTC on Friday, July 30. The sixth overall mission for Arianespace this year follows a rework of the payload fairing due to vibration issues that could have endangered payloads.…
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James Webb passes critical mission review for 2021 launch, final testing nearing completion
The joint NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has passed its critical final mission analysis review — clearing the way for a late 2021 launch from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket. With this review completed, Arianespace and JWST teams can now begin final launch preparations. With…
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Northrop Grumman servicer docks with active satellite in geosynchronous orbit
A visible narrow field-of-view camera on the MEV 2 spacecraft captured this view of Intelsat 10-02 from a range of about 100 feet, or 30 meters. Credit: Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman’s second robotic life extension spacecraft docked with an Intelsat satellite in geosynchronous orbit Monday, the first link-up between a commercial servicing mission and an…
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James Webb, OneWeb highlight Arianespace’s 2021 launch schedule
File photo of an Ariane 5 launch in January 2020. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon The planned Halloween launch of the James Webb Space Telescope — one of eight Ariane 5 launches left before the rocket’s retirement — and a series of flights to build out OneWeb’s satellite internet…
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U.S. companies, led by SpaceX, launched more than any other country in 2020
A Falcon 9 rocket soars into the sky with 60 Starlink internet satellites after liftoff Oct. 18 from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX Leading all other nations, U.S. launch providers flew 44 missions in 2020 that aimed to place payloads in Earth orbit or deep space, with 40 successes.…
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James Webb on track for October 2021 launch; final testing underway
In a virtual update, NASA and Northrop Grumman confirmed the James Webb Space Telescope remains on track for launch on 31 October 2021 atop an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. Final pre-launch processing milestones with the telescope, meanwhile, continue at Northrop Grumman’s Redondo Beach, California, facility, with teams currently working toward shipment of…