Tag: European Space Agency
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Latvian Startup Develops Nuclear Power System to Survive Lunar Night
Latvian nuclear power startup Deep Space Energy has secured €930,000 ($1.1 million) in funding to develop a compact radioisotope power generation system designed to keep spacecraft operating through the Moon’s two-week-long lunar night, the company said. The funding package includes a €350,000 pre-seed investment round led by Outlast Fund and NanoAvionics co-founder Linas Sargautis, as…
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Exploration Company Tests Nyx Capsule Splashdown Ahead of ISS Cargo Plans
European space logistics startup The Exploration Company has completed a controlled splashdown test of a scaled prototype of its Nyx reusable spacecraft, marking a key step toward its planned cargo missions to low Earth orbit. Founded in 2021, the company is developing Nyx as a reusable capsule designed initially to transport cargo to and from…
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ESA Awards €81.2 Million Contract for Apophis Asteroid Mission
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded OHB Italia an €81.2 million contract to build, assemble and test the spacecraft for its Ramses mission, which will study the asteroid Apophis during a rare close flyby of Earth in 2029. The contract signals that the mission has entered full development following approval of funding at ESA’s…
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DLR to Build Human Exploration Control Center for Moon and Mars Missions
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) will establish a new Human Exploration Control Center (HECC) at its Oberpfaffenhofen site near Munich to support future human and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. The facility will expand the existing German Space Operations Center and is intended to manage complex, long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit. Officials…
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‘Very lucky day’: NASA, SpaceX ace astronaut launch to the space station on Friday the 13th
A composite shot showing the liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 and the landing of the Falcon booster, 1101, at the new recovery site, Landing Zone 40, during NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. Image: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now Flying in the face of superstition, NASA and SpaceX conducted…
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SpaceX Crew-12 Launches Four Astronauts To International Space Station
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched NASA’s Crew-12 mission early Friday, sending four astronauts from the United States, Europe and Russia toward the International Space Station for a long-duration scientific expedition. The rocket lifted off at 5:15 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying a Crew Dragon spacecraft…
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ESA Selects Alén Space-Led Consortium to Develop Space-Based Radio Interference Monitoring Prototype
An international consortium led by Alén Space has been selected by the European Space Agency to develop a prototype system designed to detect and monitor radio frequency interference (RFI) from space, the companies said. The initiative, carried out under ESA’s FutureEO programme, seeks to create a CubeSat-format satellite prototype capable of identifying and geolocating sources…
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France Pushes European Preference for Space Defence Assets Amid Security Shift
France is calling for a stronger preference for European-made space assets linked to defence, arguing that the bloc must rapidly reduce reliance on foreign equipment as global security dynamics shift, French and German ministers said on Tuesday. “Time is of the essence” for Europe to develop a space policy that relies far more heavily on…
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Rocket Factory Augsburg Wins Two ESA-EU Launch Contracts Under Flight Ticket Initiative
German rocket manufacturer Rocket Factory Augsburg has been awarded launch service contracts for two missions under Europe’s Flight Ticket Initiative, strengthening its position in the continent’s emerging small-launch market, the European Space Agency said. The contracts, announced on Jan. 22, cover two missions comprising a total of three satellites and were awarded through the Flight…
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ESA Seeks Study on Uncontrolled Falcon 9 Re-Entry Over Poland
The European Space Agency has issued a call to tender for a study into the uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry and breakup of a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage that scattered debris across Poland in February last year, highlighting growing concerns over re-entry risks as global launch activity accelerates. In the early hours of Feb. 19, 2025,…