Tag: Arianespace
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ESA satellite set for launch to measure sizes of exoplanets
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Dec. 17 after the first launch attempt was scrubbed. Artist’s illustration of the CHEOPS spacecraft observing an exoplanet transiting in front of its parent star. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab A compact exoplanet observatory built in Europe to help astronomers determine the sizes of distant worlds around other stars is scheduled for launch Wednesday from…
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Ariane 5 launches with TIBA-1 and Inmarsat GX5
After a short three-month break between flights, Arianespace returned to action with the launch of two telecommunications satellites in TIBA-1 and Inmarsat GX5 on an Ariane 5 rocket. Liftoff from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana finally occurred on Tuesday after several delays due to technical…
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Launch of 250th Ariane rocket marks new era for Inmarsat broadband fleet
The 250th launch of an Ariane rocket — and the 106th Ariane 5 flight — delivered the TIBA 1 and Inmarsat GX5 communications satellites to orbit Tuesday evening. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon Egypt’s first military communications satellite and a powerhouse spacecraft to beam Internet signals to airline passengers…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket launches with satellites for Egypt and Inmarsat
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the TIBA 1 and Inmarsat GX5 communication satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video webcast will begin approximately 15 minutes before launch and will be available on this page.
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OneWeb’s first full-up launch delayed to January
A series of Soyuz rocket launches from up to three locations — French Guiana, Kazakhstan and Russia — will deploy OneWeb’s satellites in orbit. Credit: OneWeb The first Soyuz launch from Kazakhstan carrying a full load of more than 30 Florida-built satellites for OneWeb’s broadband Internet network has slipped from December to mid-to-late January, OneWeb…
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Egyptian satellite, ESA science probe share plane ride to launch base
These photos show the loading of Egypt’s TIBA 1 communications satellite (left) and the European Space Agency’s CHEOPS scientific satellite (right) on an Antonov An-124 cargo plane at Toulouse-Blagnac airport in France for transport to Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: Airbus Defense and Space/P. Masclet/Master Films A European-built communications satellite, manufactured in secret for the Egyptian…
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Investigators narrow cause of Vega launch failure to second stage
Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, discusses the outcome of the Vega launch failure investigation, backdropped by the forward dome of a Zefiro 23 rocket motor at the rocket’s factory in Italy. Credit: Avio Engineers believe super-hot gas from burning solid propellant impinged on the structure of the second stage on a European Vega launcher during…
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James Webb Space Telescope fully assembled in California
Teams have connected James Webb Space Telescope’s science and spacecraft segments for the first time. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn Teams working in Northrop Grumman’s spacecraft factory in Southern California have connected the spacecraft and science modules of the James Webb Space Telescope for the first time, a major milestone as engineers prepare to verify a fix…
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Launch providers announce rideshare missions large and small
Artist’s illustration of a Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX and Arianespace recently announced plans to launch rideshare missions to sun-synchronous and geostationary orbit, dedicating big rocket capacity for small satellites as the U.S.-based launch broker Spaceflight committed to using a new Indian microsatellite launcher set to debut later this year. The announcements…
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A rush of rockets: SpaceX Falcon 9 puts Israel’s Amos-17 telecom satellite in orbit
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched a Boeing-built, Israeli telecommunications satellite called Amos-17 into geosynchronous transfer orbit today, adding to what’s shaping up as a largesse of liftoffs. The launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida came at 7:23 p.m.…