Tag: ESA
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Sentinel-5p launches on Russia’s Rokot launch system
The European Space Agency’s Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite launched Friday aboard what could be the penultimate flight of Russia’s Rokot carrier rocket. Liftoff, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia, was on schedule at 12:27 Moscow Time (09:27 UTC). Rokot Launch: Sentinel 5 Precursor, or Sentinel-5p, is a small scientific satellite that will contribute to…
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Sentinel-5p launches on Russia’s Rokot launch system
The European Space Agency’s Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite launched Friday aboard what could be the penultimate flight of Russia’s Rokot carrier rocket. Liftoff, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia, was on schedule at 12:27 Moscow Time (09:27 UTC). Rokot Launch: Sentinel 5 Precursor, or Sentinel-5p, is a small scientific satellite that will contribute to…
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Farewell LISA – Space Observatory Pathfinder put to sleep
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) pathfinder mission has come to an end via the final commanding of the spacecraft. The 16 month mission, has provided the tools for a future mission that may take place – probably not until the 2030s – having successfully demonstrated the technology required to operate a space observatory tasked…
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BepiColombo shaken and stacked ahead Mercury mission
Set for launch next year, the BepiColombo spacecraft is coming to the end of its test phase ahead of being shipped to Kourou, French Guiana in readiness to begin a journey to Mercury, opening with a ride on the Ariane 5 rocket. The final major processing tests involved being shaken on a vibrating table and stacked…
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Blue lightning caught on video from space
An image captured from the International Space Station shows an electrical discharge known as a blue jet shooting up toward space from a cloud. (ESA / NASA Photo / Andreas Mogensen) For years, scientists have been piecing together evidence of peculiar phenomena known as red sprites, blue jets, pixies and elves – exotic types of electrical discharges…
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Sentinels monitor sinking San Francisco skyscraper for case study
The European Space Agency’s fleet of Sentinel satellites are busy checking into urban ground movements, using San Fransico as a case study. Their findings reveal the city’s Millennium Tower skyscraper is slowly sinking. The news comes as a new Sentinel satellite prepares for launch early next year. Watching From Above: The Sentinel spacecraft form part…
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NASA creates working group to get Orion ESM back on schedule
NASA is continuing to work towards the historic maiden launch of the Space Launch System (SLS), with the rocket still on schedule to make a 2018 debut. However, the passenger – the EM-1 Orion – is requiring the assistance of a working group, specifically focused on the European Service Module (ESM), which continues to struggle with…
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‘Farewell, Rosetta’: Europe’s mission to a comet ends with a bittersweet bang
The Rosetta probe inspired a series of kid-friendly cartoons. (Credit: ESA) The European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe today descended to a mission-ending impact on the comet that it followed for more than two years. The car-sized probe continued to transmit data as it dove toward the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, 446 million miles from Earth. When the…
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Philae found at last! Rosetta probe spots lost lander stuck in a comet’s crack
An extreme close-up of the Philae lander shows components of the 3-foot-wide spacecraft from a distance of 1.7 miles. (Credit: ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS Team / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA) After almost two years’ of searching, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta…
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Soyuz ST-A launches with Sentinel-1B at fourth attempt
Russia’s Soyuz ST-A rocket has launched with the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1B spacecraft and four small satellites, following three delays – two relating to unacceptable weather for both Friday and Saturday’s attempts and then a technical scrub on Sunday. In what was the rocket’s first launch of the year from its South American launch site,…