Tag: ESA
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Europe’s spaceplane on a trajectory for February launch
ESA’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) spaceplane is finally into its final processing flow towards launch, following the loading of propellants and work to encapsulate the vehicle inside its payload fairing. The launch – atop a Vega rocket – is set for February 11, following a decision to alter the launch trajectory due to safety concerns. IVX Ready:…
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Woerner tapped as next ESA director general
DLR chairman Johann-Dietrich Woerner will take over as ESA’s director general on July 1, 2015. Credit: ESA–P. Sebirot, 2014 Johann-Dietrich Woerner, head of the German Aerospace Center, will take over as director general of the European Space Agency on July 1. Woerner will take over from Jean-Jacques Dordain, who has held the top post at…
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Rosetta raises questions on how water got to Earth
A four-image mosaic of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko using images taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera on Dec. 7 at a distance of 19.7 kilometers (12.2 miles) from the center of the comet. Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM New readings from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission have challenged the theory that comets brought water to Earth in a series of…
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Philae wins battle to send key data ahead battery depletion
ESA’s Philae lander battled against the odds on Friday, transmitting key scientific data before its batteries were depleted. Due to the unplanned location – following a couple of bounces on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko earlier this week – Philae was unable to draw the required power from its solar arrays, resulting in a battle against time to conduct…
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Rosetta’s Philae completes historic comet landing
ESA’s Rosetta – and her companion spacecraft – Philae – parted ways on Wednesday, ahead of a historic landing on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Philae conducted the journey towards the landing site named Agilkia, bounced at least twice, before coming to rest in a location that should still provide the lander and opportunity to conduct the…
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Galileo launch failure blamed on frozen Fregat fuel line
Artist’s concept of a Fregat upper stage during launch with two Galileo navigation satellites. Photo credit: Arianespace TV/Spaceflight Now A design flaw in a Russian Fregat upper stage was responsible for the botched orbital injection of two European Galileo navigation satellites in August, officials said Wednesday, causing hydrazine fuel to freeze inside the rocket’s maneuvering…
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Candidate landing sites selected for ESA Mars rover
Artist’s concept of the ExoMars rover set for launch in May 2018. Credit: ESA TORONTO — The European Space Agency has announced four candidate landing sites for the ExoMars rover, as a deadline looms to secure full funding for the mission in time for a scheduled launch to the red planet in 2018. Considered the…
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Europe’s ATV-5 completes docking swansong with the ISS
The European Space Agency (ESA) ATV-5 has completed her final ever docking to the International Space Station (ISS). The “Georges Lemaître” is conducting an essential cargo run to the orbital outpost, with her pre-arrival orbital adventures also including a key test of sensors that could help spacecraft that follow in her footsteps. The vehicle successfully…
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Rosetta completes amazing journey to Comet 67P
The European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft Rosetta – and her robotic lander companion Philae – have completed an amazing 10 year journey to arrive in orbit around Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta is the first mission designed to orbit and land on a comet, with the potential to gain further understanding on how life started on Earth. Rosetta: The…
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ESA’s experimental space plane gearing up for November debut
The European Space Agency (ESA) Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) is enjoying a stay in Holland ahead of being shipped to Kourou, French Guiana to meet up with her Vega launch vehicle. The IXV space plane is in the Netherlands for a “shaking”, simulating the vibrations and stresses she can expect to endure atop of Vega during the…