Tag: European Space Agency
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Ariane 5 launches two satellites on 7-year voyage to Mercury
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon A powerful European Ariane 5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana late Friday and boosted a pair of satellites into space for a seven-year plunge into the inner solar system, a voyage requiring seven planetary flybys to slow down enough in the sun’s gravitational…
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Photos: BepiColombo stacked for launch to Mercury
The BepiColombo spacecraft is pictured in launch configuratin shortly before stacking atop the Ariane 5 rocket in French Guiana. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin Ground crews at the Guiana Space Center in South America have spent the last few months preparing the BepiColombo spacecraft, a tandem mission with European…
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Live coverage: Probe heading to Mercury blasts off from French Guiana
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the BepiColombo mission to Mercury. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”Arianespace Webcast”] [tabby title=”ESA Webcast”] [tabbyending] The European Space Agency’s live video webcast will begin approximately 30 minutes before launch…
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Bye-bye, BepiColombo: Rocket’s red glare kicks off a marathon mission to Mercury
An Ariane 5 rocket rises from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, sending the BepiColombo probe on the first leg of its journey to Mercury. (Arianespace via YouTube) A mission to the planet Mercury got off to a flashy start with tonight’s launch of an Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket, but there’s a long way…
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Pioneering European winds observatory launched aboard Vega rocket
A Vega rocket lifted off Wednesday from French Guiana with the European Space Agency’s Aeolus Earth science mission. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin A European satellite hosting a spaceborne laser crafted to measure winds in Earth’s atmosphere rode a Vega launcher into orbit Wednesday from French Guiana, a thundering…
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Live coverage: Vega rocket lifts off with European winds observatory
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega rocket with the European Space Agency’s Aeolus winds observatory. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s video webcast is scheduled to begin at approximately 2100 GMT (5 p.m. EDT) Wednesday, and will be available on this page.
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Vega launch timeline with Aeolus
The European Space Agency’s Aeolus winds observatory is set for liftoff aboard a Vega rocket to kick off a three-year mission to measure global wind profiles from an orbit nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) above Earth. The ascent will take nearly an hour following launch from French Guiana at 2120:09 GMT (5:20:09 p.m. EDT; 6:20:09 p.m. French…
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First-of-its-kind satellite to measure global winds finally ready for liftoff
Artist’s concept of the Aeolus satellite in orbit. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab The European Space Agency’s $550 million Aeolus science mission, the product of a drawn-out 16-year development effort that required engineers to master new technologies, is in the starting blocks on a launch pad in French Guiana awaiting liftoff Wednesday to monitor wind speeds from…
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Vega launch delayed 24 hours
The European Space Agency’s Aeolus satellite, covered in a payload shroud, was lifted atop its Vega launcher in French Guiana earlier this month. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon The liftoff of a European satellite to measure global wind fields has been delayed 24 hours to Wednesday in hopes of…
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Photos: Ariane 5 blasts off with Galileo satellites
Look back on last week’s blastoff of an Ariane 5 rocket from the edge of the Amazon jungle in French Guiana carrying four Galileo navigation satellites into orbit. The rare morning Ariane 5 launch occurred at 8:25:01 a.m. French Guiana time Wednesday, July 25 (1125:01 GMT; 7:25:01 a.m. EDT). The flight marked the final launch…