Tag: European Space Agency
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NASA, ESA officials seek formal approvals for Mars sample return mission
Artist’s concept of a Mars sample return mission, including a U.S.-built Mars Ascent Vehicle (left), a European-built Earth Return Orbiter (center), and a NASA-provided Earth Entry Vehicle (right). Credit: ESA/ATG medialab After crystallizing a partnership to retrieve samples from the surface of Mars and return them to Earth, NASA and European Space Agency officials are seeking…
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Investigators narrow cause of Vega launch failure to second stage
Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, discusses the outcome of the Vega launch failure investigation, backdropped by the forward dome of a Zefiro 23 rocket motor at the rocket’s factory in Italy. Credit: Avio Engineers believe super-hot gas from burning solid propellant impinged on the structure of the second stage on a European Vega launcher during…
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SpaceX reports a ‘bug’ in its alert system after ESA shifts spacecraft to avoid Starlink satellite collision
A computer-generated diagram shows the projected orbital paths of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite and the European Space Agency’s Aeolus satellite. (ESA Graphic via Twitter) The European Space Agency says it performed a collision avoidance maneuver over the Labor Day weekend to head off a potential crash between its Aeolus wind-measuring satellite and one of SpaceX’s Starlink…
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James Webb Space Telescope fully assembled in California
Teams have connected James Webb Space Telescope’s science and spacecraft segments for the first time. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn Teams working in Northrop Grumman’s spacecraft factory in Southern California have connected the spacecraft and science modules of the James Webb Space Telescope for the first time, a major milestone as engineers prepare to verify a fix…
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ExoMars rover leaves British factory, heads for testing in France
The completed ExoMars rover, named “Rosalind Franklin,” is lifted in preparation for shipment from an Airbus facility in Stevenage, England. Credit: Max Alexander/Airbus The European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover left its Airbus factory in Britain on Wednesday, heading for a round of testing in France before integration with its carrier and descent modules on pace…
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ICEYE releases first sub-meter radar imagery from a microsatellite
ICEYE radar satellite imagery that has been acquired and processed at 0.5-meter ground sample distance, featuring a port container terminal near Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Credit: ICEYE ICEYE, a Finnish company that builds and operates a growing fleet of commercial Earth-observing spacecraft, has released the first radar image from a microsatellite with a resolution of less…
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ExoMars parachute failures could jeopardize 2020 launch date
The ExoMars parachute deployment sequence that will deliver a surface platform and rover to the surface of Mars. The graphic is not to scale, and the colors of the parachutes are for illustrative purposes only. Credit: ESA The European Space Agency has confirmed a parachute for the ExoMars rover mission set for launch next July…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket takes off from French Guiana
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the Intelsat 39 and EDRS C communication satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video webcast will begin approximately 15 minutes before launch and will be available on this page.
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Two communications satellites ride Ariane 5 rocket into geostationary transfer orbit
An Ariane 5 rocket blasts off with the Intelsat 39 and EDRS C satellites. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin A U.S.-built commercial communications craft owned by Intelsat and a new node for Europe’s laser data relay satellite network rocketed into orbit Tuesday from Kourou, French Guiana, on top of…
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Second node ready to join European laser relay network
The EDRS C spacecraft undergoes testing at an Airbus Defense and Space facility. Credit: ESA – S. Corvaja A German-built satellite designed to relay data between other orbiting spacecraft and ground stations using laser beams is set for launch in tandem with an Intelsat communications craft Tuesday from Kourou, French Guiana, aboard an Ariane 5…