Tag: Europe
-
Airbus discusses technical aspects of the European Service Module
The European Service Module (ESM) is part of the necessary hardware to bring people back to the moon. It will not only be used to power Orion on the Artemis I mission, but on the missions to come as well. In the first interview, NASASpaceflight had the opportunity to talk with Kai Bergemann, Deputy Programme…
-
Arianespace Vega launches CERÉS satellites for CNES
Arianespace’s Vega rocket launched on its third mission of the year with the Capacité de Renseignement Électromagnétique Spatiale (CERÉS) 1, 2, and 3 satellites for the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Vega lifted off on November 16, at 6:27 AM Kourou time (09:27 UTC). This mission was Vega’s 20th overall and Arianespace’s…
-
Ariane 5 launches civilian, military satellites; mission to clear way for James Webb launch
In an important prelude to the James Webb Space Telescope launch, planned for no earlier than mid-December, the Ariane 5 rocket has made its second flight of 2021 and its 111th mission overall with the VA255 flight to take two communication satellites into a geostationary transfer orbit. Liftoff from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre…
-
Soyuz launches OneWeb mission to secure Northern latitude coverage
The eighth delivery of OneWeb satellites into Earth orbit lifted off at 12:48 UTC launch on Thursday, July 1 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia. Continuing the effort of building an internet constellation, this launch was particularly important in enabling OneWeb to offer full connectivity to areas north of 50 degrees latitude by increasing the…
-
Soyuz launches OneWeb mission to secure Northern latitude coverage
The eighth delivery of OneWeb satellites into Earth orbit lifted off at 12:48 UTC launch on Thursday, July 1 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia. Continuing the effort of building an internet constellation, this launch was particularly important in enabling OneWeb to offer full connectivity to areas north of 50 degrees latitude by increasing the…
-
Arianespace launches Vega’s return to flight with rideshare mission
After a five month grounding, Vega returned to flight following a launch failure in November 2020 — the rocket’s second in as many years. For its 18th mission, Vega launched the Pléiades-Neo 3 satellite along with several smaller rideshare payloads, taking advantage of the Small Satellite Mission Service offering from Arianespace, to Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).…
-
Arianespace, with Russian Soyuz, launches CSO-2 French military satellite
The 114th and final orbital launch of 2020 saw a Soyuz ST-A rocket loft the CSO-2 Earth observation satellite for the French Ministry of Defence. Liftoff occurred at 16:42:07 UTC (11:42:07 EST) on 29 December from the ELS (Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz) launchpad at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, an overseas department of…
-
Ariane 5 launches Mission Extension Vehicle, two communications satellites to orbit
An Ariane 5 rocket, operated by European Launch Service provider Arianespace, launched on its 109th scheduled flight, designated VA253, on Saturday. The heavy lift rocket was scheduled to launch from pad Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3 (ELA-3) at Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 31 July 2020. However, a hold was called, under two…
-
Ariane 5 launches Mission Extension Vehicle, two communications satellites to orbit
An Ariane 5 rocket, operated by European Launch Service provider Arianespace, launched on its 109th scheduled flight, designated VA253, on Saturday. The heavy lift rocket was scheduled to launch from pad Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3 (ELA-3) at Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 31 July 2020. However, a hold was called, under two…
-
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…