Tag: ESA
-
NASA looks to Kourou for SLS ground ops streamlining ideas
As development of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket continues, NASA is looking to its international partners for inspiration and lessons learned. Specifically, the agency sent a team to Kourou, French Guiana, to observe and report on the processes and ground operations employed by the European Space Agency for the Ariane V, with an eye…
-
UK’s Major Peake delighted by historic ISS assignment
British astronaut Major Timothy Peake is to become the first British government-sponsored astronaut to fly on the International Space Station (ISS), following his assignment to a long-duration mission from late 2015 to mid-2016. Major Peake’s flight to the ISS, which will be made via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, comes amid a period of increased UK…
-
Europe’s ATV-4 prepares for launch amid contributions to future exploration
Europe’s latest space freighter, the Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4), is currently undergoing preparations for a realigned launch date following the replacement of a faulty unit inside the spacecraft. While the primary mission of ATV-4 will be to deliver a large load of cargo and propellants to the International Space Station, it will also help to…
-
ESA and Roscosmos sign ExoMars deal following NASA refocus
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian federal space agency, Roscosmos, have announced their partnership on the ExoMars programme. The deal will result in two major Mars missions, launched via the Russian Proton-M rockets with Briz-M upper stages in 2016 and 2018. ExoMars: In the week NASA managers announced their Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) discovered…
-
Orion’s ATV Service Module deal may allow ESA astro on EM-2 mission
As was expected, NASA and ESA managers announced the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will live on as the bulk of the Orion Service Module. With an emphasis on international cooperation for Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) exploration, the ATV deal will lead to discussions on allowing an ESA astronaut to ride on Exploration Mission -2…
-
UK steps up, as ESA commit to ATV Service Module on NASA’s Orion
The European Space Agency (ESA) have announced they will inform NASA they are ready to build an ATV derived Service Module for Orion, to be ready for the first launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) in 2017. The announcement came after the UK stepped up with additional funding, marking the country’s first real human…
-
Soyuz 2-1A launches with Metop-B for Europe
A Russian Soyuz 2-1A launch vehicle has launched with the Metop-B satellite into orbit for the European Space Agency (ESA) and EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites). The 25th mission of Arianespace’s Starsem affiliate was on schedule, with liftoff at 16:28 GMT on Monday from Baikonur Cosmodrome’s PU-6 LC31 launch complex. Soyuz 2-1A…
-
Ariane 5 ECA launches with MSG-3 and EchoStar XVII
Arianespace have launched their Ariane 5 ECA on a mission to loft two satellites into orbit – namely Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) and EchoStar XVII. Launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana was on schedule at the start of a 29 minute launch window that opened at 9:36pm GMT on Wednesday. Ariane 5…
-
ESA sign big money deal with Astrium UK for Solar Orbiter
On the 50th anniversary of Britain’s first journey into space, the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed a 300 million Euro deal with Astrium UK – one of the largest ever contracts to be signed between the ESA Science Programme and a UK company – for the construction of Europe’s next generation solar orbiter called…
-
Europe’s ATV-3 spacecraft set to deliver large cargo load to ISS
Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-3 (ATV-3) spacecraft is all set to deliver a large load of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), providing a welcome boost of crew supplies, replacement hardware and scientific equipment aboard the orbital outpost following last year’s retirement of the Space Shuttle and launch failure of a Russian Progress spacecraft. ATV-3…