Tag: ESA
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Ancient black hole sheds new light on Webb’s Little Red Dots
Using the joint NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers has performed the first direct measurement of a supermassive black hole in the early universe. A pair of recently published studies investigating this black hole provide new insight into the nature of the elusive little red dots (LRD),…
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Europe Shifts Focus to Orbital Services Beyond Launch Sovereignty
Why is Europe shifting from launch sovereignty to orbital services dominance? European space leaders are pivoting away from the decades-long obsession with launch independence toward capturing the rapidly expanding orbital services market, projected to reach $4.2 billion by 2030. This strategic shift acknowledges that Europe’s biggest competitive advantage lies not in building rockets, but in…
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ESA Chief Calls for Independent European Human Spaceflight Capability
European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher has called for Europe to establish its own independent human spaceflight capability, arguing that the continent has become overly dependent on decisions made by foreign partners. In an opinion article published on May 18, Aschbacher said recent changes to the United States’ Artemis programme architecture and Europe’s reduced…
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ESA-China SMILE Mission Launches to Map Earth’s Magnetosphere
How Will SMILE Transform Space Weather Monitoring? The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission launched successfully from Kourou, French Guiana today, marking the culmination of over a decade of ESA-China collaboration. The 2,300-kilogram spacecraft will operate from a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) with a 19.6-hour period, reaching distances of 121,000 kilometers to capture…
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Vega C launches SMILE to study Earth’s magnetosphere
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) latest science mission, Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), launched on a four-stage Vega C rocket from French Guiana on Tuesday morning. SMILE, a collaboration between ESA, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and multiple academic and commercial organizations, will capture the first global soft X-ray images of Earth’s…
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ESA Awards Kepler Prime Contract for HydRON Element 3 Optical Comms
Why Did ESA Select Kepler for Its Critical HydRON Element 3? The European Space Agency has awarded Toronto-based Kepler Communications the prime contractor role for HydRON Element 3, marking a significant milestone in Europe’s push for sovereign optical communications infrastructure. The selection positions the Canadian smallsat operator at the center of ESA’s most ambitious laser…
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Expedition 74 sees vehicle departures and a spacewalk during March
March was another busy month onboard the International Space Station, with the Expedition 74 crew overseeing three vehicle departures and one arrival. The crew also conducted the first spacewalk of the year, U.S. Spacewalk 94, and talked with the Artemis II crew on April 7 during their return trip from the Moon. Departures, arrivals, and…
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New crew arrivals and science highlight February aboard the ISS
Following the early departure of Crew-11 in mid-January due to a medical concern, the International Space Station began February with a crew of just three. Two cosmonauts, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, and one NASA astronaut, Chris Williams, spent the first half of February conducting experiments and technology demonstrations, with Williams studying proximity operations in…
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Arianespace Launches Ariane 64 on Inaugural Flight Carrying Amazon Satellites
Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 64, completed its inaugural launch successfully, signaling a major step in the continent’s effort to strengthen independent access to space while entering the global commercial launch market. Operated by Arianespace, the four-booster variant of the Ariane 6 family lifted off from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana, carrying 32 satellites for…
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Skyrora Eyes Orbex Assets Including Scottish Spaceport After Rival’s Financial Troubles
British rocket developer Skyrora said on Thursday it is considering acquiring selected assets from rival Orbex, including a planned spaceport in northern Scotland, after the smaller launch company disclosed financial difficulties. Skyrora, headquartered in Glasgow, said it intends to explore purchasing parts of Orbex’s business, notably the Sutherland Spaceport project on Scotland’s north coast, in…