Tag: ESA
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Launch Roundup: Russian and European science missions launched during busy week
Seven launches took place this week. Four of these are Falcon 9s, with SpaceX launching two customer missions and two Starlink missions. Internationally, Russia and Europe have both launched science payloads, while, in Australia, Gilmour Space intended to attempt to launch its Eris rocket once again, but has delayed again, into next week. In China,…
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CHEOPS discovers exoplanet triggering explosive flares on host star
Using the European Space Agency’s Characterizing Exoplanets Satellite (CHEOPS) telescope, a team of astronomers has discovered an exoplanet that may be triggering its host star to release massive flares of radiation. These flares are similar to the coronal mass ejection our Sun produces, and the harsh radiation emitted from the flares is slowly blowing away…
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EUMETSAT, ESA launches combo MTG-S1, Sentinel-4 satellite on SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A with the Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite from the European Oganisation for the Exploration of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now A European satellite designed to augment both weather monitoring and assessments of air quality and pollution for Europe and North Africa…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX completes east coast doubleheader, Russia to resupply ISS
With the month of June coming to a close and July on the horizon, the global launch manifest remains jam-packed. SpaceX has kicked off the week with two Falcon 9 launches from Florida, with a Starlink mission and the launch of a geostationary weather satellite. This doubleheader will be followed by a Chinese launch from…
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Axiom Mission 4 launches atop Falcon 9 on new Crew Dragon Grace
SpaceX, along with Axiom Space, launched its fourth private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, June 25, at 2:31 AM EDT (06:31 UTC) atop Falcon 9 and the newly-named Crew Dragon Grace. The mission had been postponed following the discovery of leaks on both the launch vehicle and the Station’s Zvezda module.…
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Solar Orbiter makes first ever observations of Sun’s south pole, reveals messy magnetic field
Following a flyby of Venus in February that successfully increased its orbital inclination around the Sun, the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter recently imaged the Sun’s poles for the first time. The images are the first to show how the Sun’s immense magnetic field interacts at its poles, and will improve scientists’ understanding of the…
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ESA to Seek Funding for Satellite Security System, Signaling Shift Toward Defense
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to request funding from member states in November for a high-frequency Earth observation satellite system aimed at supporting security and resilience, marking a significant departure from the agency’s traditional civil mission. Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, said in an interview aired by Friends of Europe that the request follows…
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Launch Roundup: Starlink missions fill launch manifest, Biomass and Alpha launch
JThis week’s schedule included up to six Starlink launches from Florida and California, but poor weather meant only four flew. Arianespace launched the Biomass satellite aboard a Vega C from Kourou, and Firefly Aerospace attempted to launch its first Alpha rocket of the year. SpaceX has already launched 50 times this year and celebrated its…
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ESA’s Biomass mission launches aboard Vega-C
The European Space Agency’s seventh Earth Explorer mission, Biomass, launched on Tuesday aboard an Arianespace Vega-C rocket. Biomass, which will study Earth’s forests and their impact on the planet’s climate, lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 09:15 UTC (6:15 AM local time). The Earth Explorer missions are part of the Living Planet Programme (LPP),…
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D-Orbit sets course to expand beyond space transportation services
Italian company D-Orbit has been launching customer payloads aboard its Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTVs) for the past five years. In that time, the company has positioned itself as a reliable space transportation provider and hosting platform. The company now plans to extend into on-orbit servicing and refueling missions, end-of-mission disposal, and cross-orbit transportation, including to…