Tag: European Space Agency
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Photos: Ariane 5 on its jungle launch pad with navigation payloads
Take a walk around the Ariane 5 launch pad in French Guiana after the 16-story rocket arrived at the complex for liftoff Thursday with four European Galileo navigation satellites. Read our launch preview for more information on the mission. Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016 Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016 Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016 Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016…
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Photos: Ariane 5’s trek to the launch pad for Galileo launch
An Ariane 5 rocket rolled out to its tropical launch pad in French Guiana this week leading up to Thursday’s launch of four Galileo navigation satellites for the European Commission. The 165-foot-tall (50-meter) rocket make the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) trip to the ELA-3 launch zone Tuesday mounted on a mobile launch platform. Four satellites for Europe’s…
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Europe’s navigation network turns to Ariane 5 for heavy-lifting
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin Four satellites fastened to the top of an Ariane 5 rocket will grow Europe’s space-based Galileo navigation network Thursday morning with a launch from the South American jungle. The spacecraft will ride a specially-modified Ariane 5 launcher to an orbital perch more than 14,000…
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Three-person crew ready to embark on space station expedition
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet during a fit check rehearsal with their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Alexander Vysotsky A veteran Russian cosmonaut, a rookie French flight engineer and a record-setting NASA astronaut making her third trip to the…
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Soyuz crew launcher rolled out for liftoff from Kazakhstan
The Soyuz booster that will send the International Space Station’s next three residents into orbit later this week rolled out of an integration hangar early Monday and rode a railroad car to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The rocket will lift off at 2020 GMT (3:20 p.m. EST) Thursday from Baikonur,…
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Galileo navigation satellites mounted atop Ariane 5 for launch next week
The Ariane 5’s payload fairing (top) is lowered over the four Galileo satellites already fastened to their carrier module on the Ariane 5 upper stage. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon An Ariane 5 launcher uniquely modified to loft four of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites on one flight has received…
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Mars orbital image shows Schiaparelli lander’s crash site in inglorious color
Blackened streaks and bright bits of debris can be seen in this image of the crash zone for the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander. (Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona) High-resolution color images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show the spot where the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander crashed – in black and white and…
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New images resolve finer details of Mars lander’s crash site
This Oct. 25, 2016, image shows the area where the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli test lander reached the surface of Mars, with magnified insets of three sites where components of the spacecraft hit the ground. At center-right is the main impact site of the Schiaparelli lander. The locations of the lander’s back shell and attached…
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Mars orbiter locates Schiaparelli lander’s crash site
Before-and-after images of the Schiaparelli landing site taken May 29, 2016, and on Thursday show two new features attributed to the lander. A dark fuzzy marking near the top of the frame is from the impact of the Schiaparelli lander, and a bright dot lower in the image is likely the lander’s parachute. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS…
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What went wrong with Europe’s Mars lander? Signs point to parachute
An artist’s conception shows the Schiaparelli lander at the end of its parachute. (Credit: ESA) The European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli lander apparently crashed after its parachute was ejected too early and its thrusters switched off too soon, according to data relayed back from its orbiting mothership. “We have data coming back that allow us to fully understand the steps…