Tag: European Space Agency
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Rocket Report: New delay for Europe’s reusable rocket; SpaceX moves in at SLC-37
Welcome to Edition 7.48 of the Rocket Report! The shock of last week’s public spat between President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has worn off, and Musk expressed regret for some of his comments going after Trump on social media. Musk also backtracked from his threat to begin decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft, currently…
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Astroscale Clears Design Milestone for Satellite Removal Mission in 2025
Astroscale’s British subsidiary has completed the critical design review (CDR) for its satellite servicer under the End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-Multiple (ELSA-M) program, the company said Tuesday. The milestone paves the way for the next phase of assembly, integration and testing, ahead of a mission to remove a defunct OneWeb broadband satellite from low Earth orbit…
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ispace’s Resilience Lander to Deliver Science, Art, and Lunar Samples Amid Ambitious Growth Plans
ispace’s upcoming lunar lander, Resilience, carries a range of payloads from Japanese companies and a Taiwanese university, including a water electrolyzer, food production experiments, and a deep space radiation study. Among the commercial payloads is a “commemorative alloy plate” from Bandai Namco Research Inc., the research division of the Japanese entertainment company Bandai Namco, with…
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NASA Proposes Deep Budget Cuts for 2026, Prioritizing Exploration Over Science Missions
NASA has unveiled detailed plans for its fiscal year 2026 budget, proposing significant cuts to science missions and workforce alongside new investments in human space exploration, according to documents released on May 30. The agency’s proposed budget request totals $18.8 billion, representing a nearly 25% decrease from the $24.9 billion NASA received in fiscal year…
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Europe Faces Skepticism Over Viability of IRIS² Satellite Constellation Amid Push for Space Autonomy
Despite growing enthusiasm in Europe for achieving autonomy in space infrastructure, significant doubts remain about the feasibility of IRIS², a major government-backed satellite communications constellation project aimed at providing secure connectivity across Europe. The Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) initiative, backed by a consortium known as SpaceRISE, aims to deploy a…
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ESA to Seek Funding for Satellite Security System, Signaling Shift Toward Defense
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to request funding from member states in November for a high-frequency Earth observation satellite system aimed at supporting security and resilience, marking a significant departure from the agency’s traditional civil mission. Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, said in an interview aired by Friends of Europe that the request follows…
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The first flight of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket lasted just 40 seconds
The first flight of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket didn’t last long on Sunday. The booster’s nine engines switched off as the rocket cartwheeled upside-down and fell a short distance from its Arctic launch pad in Norway, punctuating the abbreviated test flight with a spectacular fiery crash into the sea. If officials at Isar Aerospace were…
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Rocket Report: Stoke is stoked; sovereignty is the buzzword in Europe
Welcome to Edition 7.37 of the Rocket Report! It’s been interesting to watch how quickly European officials have embraced ensuring they have a space launch capability independent of other countries. A few years ago, European government satellites regularly launched on Russian Soyuz rockets, and more recently on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets from the United States.…
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ESA finally has a commercial launch strategy, but will member states pay?
The European Space Agency is inviting proposals to inject competition into the European launch market, an important step toward fostering a dynamic multiplayer industry officials hope, one day, will mimic that of the United States. The near-term plan for the European Launcher Challenge is for ESA to select companies for service contracts to transport ESA…
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This launcher is about to displace the V-2 as Germany’s largest rocket
Seven years ago, three classmates at the Technical University of Munich believed their student engineering project might hold some promise in the private sector. At the time, Daniel Metzler led a team of 40 students working on rocket engines and launching sounding rockets. Josef Fleischmann was on the team that won the first SpaceX Hyperloop…