Tag: ESA
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Launch Roundup: Soyuz launches ISS crew; Vega C and Falcon 9 launch customer missions
This week has seen seven launches from five different rockets from across the world. SpaceX launched two missions on its workhorse Falcon 9, while a Russian Soyuz launched three new crew members towards the International Space Station from Kazakhstan. A Russian military payload launched atop an Angara 1.2 from northern Russia, and South Korea launched…
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The Exploration Company Opens New Facility in France to Advance Development of Nyx Spacecraft
The Exploration Company has inaugurated a new facility in Le Haillan, France, less than a month after opening its new headquarters in Germany. The in-space logistics startup is developing Nyx, a modular capsule intended for cargo transport to and from the International Space Station (ISS), with future variants planned for lunar surface deliveries and crewed…
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Thales Alenia Space Finalises Industrial Team for ESA’s Argonaut Lunar Lander
Thales Alenia Space has completed the formation of the core industrial team that will develop the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Argonaut lunar lander, signing contracts with Nammo, OHB System and two of its own subsidiaries, the company said on Thursday. ESA awarded an €862 million contract in January 2025 to a consortium led by Thales…
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Canada Boosts ESA Contributions with $528.5 Million Commitment
Canada will significantly increase its financial participation in European Space Agency (ESA) programmes, committing $528.5 million in what the government described as a “tenfold” rise compared with previous contribution levels. Canada is ESA’s only non-European Cooperating State, a status held since 1979 that grants the Canadian Space Agency selective access to ESA optional programmes. In…
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Webb discovers rapidly growing black hole in the very early universe
Using the joint NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, a group of astronomers has discovered a supermassive black hole within the distant galaxy CANUCS-LRD-z8.6. The galaxy is among the farthest ever observed, with Webb imaging it as it was just 570 million years after the Big Bang. CANUCS-LRD-z8.6 is a part of…
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Exploration Company Completes Debris-Shield Tests for Nyx Spacecraft Ahead of 2028 Debut
European space logistics startup The Exploration Company said it has completed the first test campaign of the micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shielding for its Nyx spacecraft, a modular vehicle scheduled to make its debut in 2028. The tests were performed under the European Space Agency’s (ESA) LEO Cargo Return Services initiative, which is funding…
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Sentinel-6B ocean monitoring satellite launches aboard Falcon 9
Sentinel-6B, a joint US-European ocean monitoring satellite, launched Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base took place at 9:21 p.m. Pacific time (05:21 UTC on Monday). The Sentinel-6B spacecraft is the second of two Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS) missions, launching five years after its sister satellite, Sentinel-6A Michael…
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SBQuantum Wins ESA Contract to Develop Enhanced Quantum Magnetometer for Earth Observation
SBQuantum has secured a new contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to deliver a next-generation prototype of its quantum diamond magnetometer for Earth observation missions, the Canadian company said. The agreement, valued at nearly $1 million, is funded through ESA’s FutureEO programme and follows an earlier contract in which SBQuantum produced a custom magnetometer…
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ESA Ministers to Weigh Historic Move Toward Defense-Focused Space Projects
The European Space Agency (ESA) is poised for a pivotal decision later this month, as its Council of Ministers prepares to vote on a package of projects that could mark the agency’s first formal step toward supporting European defense activities. The two-day meeting, scheduled for Nov. 26–27, will bring together senior officials from ESA’s 23…
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SES Reports €1.7 Billion Revenue for First Nine Months Following Intelsat Merger Amid U.S. Shutdown Delays
SES reported revenue of €1.7 billion ($2 billion) for the first nine months of 2025, marking the company’s first results since completing its Intelsat acquisition. Revenue rose nearly 20% year-on-year at constant exchange rates, though on a like-for-like basis, it fell 1.8% compared to the same period last year. The satellite operator said growth in…