Tag: Arianespace
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Timeline of Soyuz launch with CSG 1 and CHEOPS
Follow the key events of the Soyuz ST-A rocket’s ascent into orbit from the Guiana Space Center with the first COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, or CSG 1, radar observation satellite, the European Space Agency’s CHEOPS exoplanet telescope, and three CubeSats. A listing of exact times for the flight’s major events is posted below. Data source: Arianespace…
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Arianespace launches historic CHEOPS exoplanet satellite mission
The Characterizing Exoplanets Satellite, officially known as CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite – or CHEOPS, is a joint European Space Agency and Swiss Space Office space telescope designed to study the formation and sizes of known transiting exoplanets. Liftoff of the mission, which includes the first of the second generation of Cosmo-SkyMed satellites as well as three…
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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…