Tag: Copernicus
-
Photos: Converted Russian ballistic missile fires into space with satellite
A decommissioned missile originally built in Russia to deliver nuclear weapons to intercontinental targets in the United States vaulted out of a vertical canister Friday and fired into space with a European satellite to monitor global air pollution. The 95-foot-tall (29-meter) Rockot booster took off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 1127:44 GMT…
-
Modified Russian missile boosts Europe’s newest environmental sentinel to space
A Rockot booster made from decommissioned Russian military missile stages carried Europe’s Sentinel 5P satellite to orbit Friday. Credit: ESA A European satellite that will collect daily air quality measurements over every major city on Earth rode an uprated Russian ballistic missile into orbit Friday. Assembled in Britain with a significant Dutch contribution, the Sentinel…
-
Photos: Sentinel 5P environmental satellite prepared for liftoff
Europe’s Sentinel 5P satellite, fitted with a Dutch-developed spectrometer to measure gases in Earth’s atmosphere, was fueled and mated to its Russian Rockot booster over the last month at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a military complex around 500 miles (800 kilometers) north of Moscow. The 1,800-pound (820-kilogram) spacecraft is set for launch Friday at 0927:44 GMT…
-
Live coverage: European environmental satellite launches from Russia
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rockot launcher with Europe’s Sentinel 5P environmental monitoring satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
-
Brexit raises question mark over UK’s role in some European space projects
SSTL engineers working in Guildford, England, test a navigation payload for Europe’s Galileo program. Credit: SSTL The future participation of major segments of Britain’s space industry in Europe’s Galileo navigation system and Copernicus environmental network, two multibillion-dollar flagship programs with dozens of satellites, is sure to be a significant part of negotiations as the UK…
-
Photos: Vega rocket vaults off launch pad
Firing off the launch pad with more than a half-million pounds of thrust, a Vega rocket soared into space Monday night from French Guiana with Europe’s Sentinel 2B environmental satellite. The 98-foot-tall (30-meter), four-stage rocket, powered by Italian and Ukrainian propulsion, took off at 10:49:24 p.m. local time in French Guiana (0149:24 GMT; 8:49:24 p.m.…
-
Environmental sentinel launched from French Guiana
The Vega rocket took off from the Guiana Space Center at 10:49 p.m. French Guiana time Monday. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – G. Barbaste A European environmental satellite rode a solid-fueled Vega launcher from a tropical spaceport at the edge of the Amazon jungle into polar orbit Monday night, adding a…
-
Live coverage: European environmental satellite launched by Vega rocket
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega rocket with the Sentinel 2A land imaging satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video stream begins at approximately 0130 GMT (8:30 p.m. EST). Please ensure your browser is updated with the latest…
-
Launch timeline for Vega rocket’s flight with Sentinel 2B
Europe’s fifth Sentinel Earth observation satellite will ride a four-stage Vega rocket into polar orbit 488 miles (786 kilometers) above Earth to begin tracking changes in agriculture and forestry patterns and monitoring natural disasters. The ascent will take nearly an hour following launch from French Guiana at 0149:24 GMT March 7 (8:49:24 p.m. EST March 6). Credit: Arianespace T+00:00:00 – Liftoff The Vega rocket’s first stage P80 solid rocket motor ignites and powers the…
-
Europe’s next Sentinel land imaging satellite mated to rocket booster
Ground crews have mounted the fully-fueled Sentinel 2B spacecraft, the next mission in Europe’s multibillion-dollar Copernicus Earth observation satellite fleet, on top of a Vega rocket inside a protective gantry on its launch pad in French Guiana for blastoff next month. The satellite was encapsulated inside the Vega rocket’s Swiss-made composite nose shroud Feb. 15,…