Tag: Arianespace
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Arianespace’s Vega rocket launches ESA’s Aeolus
Arianespace’s lightweight Vega rocket has deployed the European Space Agency’s Aeolus climate science satellite Wednesday in an evening launch from the Centre Spatial Guyanais at Kourou, French Guiana. The mission set sail at the instantaneous launch opportunity timed at 18:20:09 local time (21:20 UTC). Aeolus, also known as the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM) or ADM-Aeolus,…
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Vega launch timeline with Aeolus
The European Space Agency’s Aeolus winds observatory is set for liftoff aboard a Vega rocket to kick off a three-year mission to measure global wind profiles from an orbit nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) above Earth. The ascent will take nearly an hour following launch from French Guiana at 2120:09 GMT (5:20:09 p.m. EDT; 6:20:09 p.m. French…
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First-of-its-kind satellite to measure global winds finally ready for liftoff
Artist’s concept of the Aeolus satellite in orbit. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab The European Space Agency’s $550 million Aeolus science mission, the product of a drawn-out 16-year development effort that required engineers to master new technologies, is in the starting blocks on a launch pad in French Guiana awaiting liftoff Wednesday to monitor wind speeds from…
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Vega launch delayed 24 hours
The European Space Agency’s Aeolus satellite, covered in a payload shroud, was lifted atop its Vega launcher in French Guiana earlier this month. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon The liftoff of a European satellite to measure global wind fields has been delayed 24 hours to Wednesday in hopes of…
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Photos: Ariane 5 blasts off with Galileo satellites
Look back on last week’s blastoff of an Ariane 5 rocket from the edge of the Amazon jungle in French Guiana carrying four Galileo navigation satellites into orbit. The rare morning Ariane 5 launch occurred at 8:25:01 a.m. French Guiana time Wednesday, July 25 (1125:01 GMT; 7:25:01 a.m. EDT). The flight marked the final launch…
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Video: Ariane 5 takes off from French Guiana
Video credit: Arianespace Watch a replay of the liftoff of an Ariane 5 rocket Wednesday from the Guiana Space Center, a spaceport carved from the edge of the Amazon rainforest. The launcher carried four Galileo navigation satellites into orbit. The 155-foot-tall (47-meter) Ariane ES rocket lifted off from the ELA-3 launch pad at 1125 GMT…
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Successful Ariane 5 launch fills out European navigation fleet
An Ariane 5 rocket lifted off at 1125 GMT (7:25 a.m. EDT; 8:25 a.m. French Guiana time) from the Guiana Space Center in South America. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – Service Optique The final flight of a discontinued version of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket added four more spacecraft to Europe’s Galileo…
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Ariane 5 rocket, Galileo satellites on launch pad in French Guiana
An Ariane 5 rocket nears its launch pad Monday in French Guiana. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon Ground crews in French Guiana on Monday transferred an Ariane 5 rocket to its launch pad, moving the vehicle into position for liftoff Wednesday with four European Galileo navigation satellites on the…
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Photos: Ariane 5 rocket rolls to launch with four Galileo satellites
An Ariane 5 rocket emerged from its vertical assembly building Monday and rolled along dual rail tracks for a 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) journey to its launch pad at the Guiana Space Center on the northern coastline of South America, moving into position for blastoff Wednesday with four Galileo navigation satellites. The midday rollout Monday was powered…
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Powerful new European solid-fueled rocket motor aces first test-firing
European engineers test-fired the world’s most powerful present-day single-segment solid rocket booster Monday in French Guiana, clearing a major development hurdle for the Vega-C and Ariane 6 launchers set for debuts in 2019 and 2020. Mounted on a test stand over a flame trench carved out of bedrock at the European-run spaceport in South America,…