Tag: Earth observation
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Spaceflight preps for first launch of unique orbiting satellite deployers
Artist’s illustration of the SSO-A mission’s free flyers separating from the upper stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: Spaceflight Engineers working for Spaceflight, a Seattle-based launch services company, are in the final steps of preparing for the first launch of new robotic free flyers carrying more than 70 small government and commercial satellites into…
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Pioneering European winds observatory launched aboard Vega rocket
A Vega rocket lifted off Wednesday from French Guiana with the European Space Agency’s Aeolus Earth science mission. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin A European satellite hosting a spaceborne laser crafted to measure winds in Earth’s atmosphere rode a Vega launcher into orbit Wednesday from French Guiana, a thundering…
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Live coverage: Vega rocket lifts off with European winds observatory
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega rocket with the European Space Agency’s Aeolus winds observatory. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s video webcast is scheduled to begin at approximately 2100 GMT (5 p.m. EDT) Wednesday, and will be available on this page.
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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: Final Delta 2 rocket assembled for launch in California
The step-by-step stacking of United Launch Alliance’s final Delta 2 rocket was completed in June at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for liftoff Sept. 15 with an Earth science satellite for NASA. Workers at Vandenberg lifted the Delta 2’s first stage on its launch mount June 8, then added an interstage connector June 12.…
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Tanking test marks resumption of Delta 2 rocket’s final launch campaign
Ground crews lift the second stage of a Delta 2 rocket into the mobile gantry at Space Launch Complex 2-West at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The second stage was stacked atop the Delta 2 rocket June 21. Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin With each day, another milestone passes like clockwork for engineers and technicians preparing a United…
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Long March 4B rocket lofts Chinese Earth-observing satellite
A Chinese Long March 4B rocket lifts off Tuesday with the Gaofen 11 Earth observation satellite. Credit: Xinhua A sharp-eyed Chinese Earth-imaging satellite rode a Long March 4B booster into orbit Tuesday, tying the record for the highest number of space launches China has achieved in a single year. The three-stage, liquid-fueled Long March 4B…
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China successfully launches two satellites for Pakistan
A Chinese Long March 2C rocket lifts off Monday from the Jiuquan space center. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese Long March 2C rocket launched Monday with two satellites for Pakistan’s national space agency, extending a partnership between the two countries’ space programs. The Long March 2C booster lifted off at 0356 GMT Monday (11:56 p.m. EDT…