Tag: European Space Agency
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Lean team readies ESA’s Mercury-bound BepiColombo for planetary flyby
Artist’s illustration of the BepiColombo spacecraft during its gravity assist flyby of Earth. Credit: ESA/ATG Medialab One job deemed essential by the European Space Agency during the coronavirus pandemic involves shepherding the BepiColombo spacecraft through a high-speed flyby of planet Earth next month, an immovable event on the $1.8 billion mission’s seven-year journey to Mercury.…
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Italian maker of Vega rocket says launch remains on track for later this month
The Italian-built Zefiro 23 second stage for the next flight of the European Vega rocket is raised into the mobile gantry on a launch pad at the Guiana Space Center in South America. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Piron The head of Italian rocket-maker Avio said Thursday that preparations are…
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Launch of ExoMars rover delayed to 2022
The Rosalind Franklin rover for the ExoMars mission completed a series of environmental tests at an Airbus Defense and Space facility in Toulouse, France, in late 2019. Credit: Airbus Most parts of the joint European-Russian ExoMars lander and rover are nearly ready for launch, but trouble with parachutes, electronics, software and concerns about the growing…
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Astronauts capture SpaceX cargo capsule with robot arm for final time
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule is seen berthed to the International Space Station’s Harmony module Monday. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now For the final time, a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule approached the International Space Station Monday for capture with the research lab’s robotic arm, delivering more than 4,300 pounds of food, experiments and spare parts. Future Dragon…
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Photos: Falcon 9 launches and lands at Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 rocket fired into a late-night sky Friday night over Cape Canaveral with a Dragon supply ship bound for the International Space Station. Eight minutes later, the booster returned to Florida’s Space Coast for SpaceX’s 50th landing of a Falcon first stage. The 213-foot-tall (65-meter) rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40…
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Late-night launch of SpaceX cargo ship marks end of an era
A Falcon 9 rocket streaks into space in this long exposure photo taken Friday night. Credit: SpaceX Taking aim on the International Space Station, nine kerosene-burning rocket engines powered a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher into a clear sky over Florida’s Space Coast on Friday night to begin the final flight of the first version of…
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Launch timeline for SpaceX’s 20th space station resupply mission
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will go from Cape Canaveral to low Earth orbit in less than 10 minutes Friday night with a Dragon capsule heading for the International Space Station carrying more than 4,300 pounds of supplies and experiments. Liftoff is set for 11:50 p.m. EST Friday (0450 GMT Saturday) from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40…
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Space station to receive new outdoor deck for science experiments
Ground teams inspect the Bartolomeo science platform at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida before loading into the drunk of a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule. Credit: NASA An Airbus-owned, German-built outdoor science deck is set for launch Friday night from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule, heading for the International Space Station to…
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Photos: Atlas 5 lifts off with Solar Orbiter
Take a look back at the Feb. 9 launch of a 189-foot-tall (57.6-meter) Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying the European-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft. Flying in a rarely-used configuration with a single strap-on solid rocket booster, the Atlas 5 took off at 11:03 p.m. EST Sunday (0403 GMT Monday) from pad 41 at Cape…
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Atlas 5 blasts off with Solar Orbiter
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION An Atlas 5 rocket lifted off at 11:03 p.m. EST Sunday (0403 GMT Monday) with the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. Credit: United Launch Alliance Under a brilliant moon, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flashed to life and vaulted away from Cape Canaveral late Sunday, boosting the European…