Tag: Avio
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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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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,…
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Arianespace aims for busy second half of 2018
The BepiColombo mission’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Mercury Transfer Module undergo electrical testing at the Guiana Space Center. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin Europe’s first mission to Mercury, a quartet of Galileo navigation spacecraft, a global winds observatory, and a new European weather satellite have arrived at an equatorial…
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Spaceflight reserves two rideshare missions on Vega rocket
Artist’s concept of the Vega rocket’s Small Spacecraft Mission Service dispenser deploying multiple satellites in orbit. Credit: ESA Spaceflight Industries has booked reservations for two commercial rideshare missions on Arianespace’s Vega rocket, officials announced Tuesday, beginning with a proof-of-concept flight in early 2019 of a new Italian-built multi-payload dispenser tailored to accommodate small satellites and…
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Photos: Vega rocket lifts off with Moroccan satellite
A European Vega rocket took off Tuesday from a tropical launch pad in South America with Mohammed VI-A, a Moroccan spy satellite built in France. The 98-foot-tall, four-stage rocket launched Tuesday from the Guiana Space Center at 10:42 p.m. French Guiana time (8:42 p.m. EST; 0142 GMT Wednesday). It was the 11th flight of a…
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Morocco’s first high-resolution surveillance satellite launched aboard Vega rocket
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Piron A reconnaissance satellite built in secrecy in France for the Moroccan government launched Tuesday on top of a Vega rocket from the Guiana Space Center in South America. The Mohammed VI-A optical imaging craft, named for the Moroccan king, lifted off at 8:42:31 p.m.…
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Live coverage: Arianespace launches its 10th mission of the year
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega rocket with the Mohammed VI-A reconnaissance satellite for the government of Morocco. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video webcast begins at approximately 0125 GMT (8:25 p.m. EST).
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Arianespace procures first batch of upgraded Vega-C rockets, preps for last Ariane 5 order
This artist’s illustration shows the lineup of European rockets currently flying or scheduled to debut in the next few years. From left to right: Vega, Vega-C, Ariane 5 ECA, Ariane 62 and Ariane 64. Credit: ESA–David Ducros, Jacky Huart, 2016 Arianespace has split its third order of Vega rockets from Italy’s Avio between old and…