Tag: France
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ArianeGroup prepares to ship Ariane 6 maiden flight rocket to Kourou
The combined Ariane 6 launcher task force, consisting of ESA, CNES, and ArianeGroup, has reported on the progress of Ariane 6, the steps to launch, and the beginning of stage shipments to the launch site. The Canopée ship, which Ariane and ESA use to transport the massive rocket, will collect the first and second stages…
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SpaceX, Crew-2 mission cleared for launch as eyes turn to the weather
The Crew-2 mission’s Launch Readiness Review, or LRR, has been completed at the Kennedy Space Center, with managers from NASA, SpaceX, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) formally clearing the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon Endeavour for launch of four international astronauts to the Space Station…
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Perseverance rover records sounds of driving on Mars
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its onboard left Navigation Camera (Navcam) on March 7, the same day the rover’s microphone recorded the sounds of driving. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Perseverance rover has recorded the crunching, rattling sound of its six metallic wheels rolling across Mars. Perseverance carries the first microphones ever sent to…
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NASA gives up on salvaging InSight Mars lander’s ‘mole’
Artist’s concept of the InSight spacecraft on Mars, with the mole of its HP3 instrument illustrated at lower right. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA managers tried for the last time earlier this month to coax the InSight lander’s long-stuck subsurface heat probe into the Martian soil, but after seeing no more progress, ground teams decided to end…
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Photos: Soyuz launches French military satellite
Check out imagery from Arianespace and the French space agency showing the launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket Dec. 29 from the Guiana Space Center in South America. The Soyuz ST-A rocket and Fregat upper stage delivered the French military’s CSO 2 optical reconnaissance satellite to an orbit around 300 miles (480 kilometers) above Earth…
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French military surveillance satellite launched by Soyuz rocket
A Soyuz ST-A rocket fires off its launch pad in French Guiana with the CSO 2 spacecraft. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Piron An optical reconnaissance satellite for the French military took off atop a Soyuz launcher Tuesday, riding the Russian-made rocket from a tropical spaceport in South America into…
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Arianespace, with Russian Soyuz, launches CSO-2 French military satellite
The 114th and final orbital launch of 2020 saw a Soyuz ST-A rocket loft the CSO-2 Earth observation satellite for the French Ministry of Defence. Liftoff occurred at 16:42:07 UTC (11:42:07 EST) on 29 December from the ELS (Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz) launchpad at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, an overseas department of…
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Live coverage: Soyuz lifts off from French Guiana
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana with the CSO 2 optical reconnaissance satellite for the French military. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video stream begins at 1627 GMT (11:27 a.m. EST) and will be available here. If you appreciate what we…
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French military spysat set for launch Monday
Artist’s illustration of a CSO satellite. Credit: Airbus A sharp-eyed French military surveillance spacecraft is set for launch aboard a Soyuz rocket Monday from French Guiana into a 300-mile-high orbit, where it will collect the highest-resolution imagery ever produced by a European reconnaissance satellite. A Russian Soyuz ST-A rocket rolled out to its launch pad…
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Soyuz rocket launches Emirati military satellite after lengthy delay
Credit: Arianespace After months of delays caused by launch vehicle issues and the coronavirus pandemic, a Russian Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage took off from South America and delivered the French-built Falcon Eye 2 military observation satellite to an on-target orbit Tuesday night for the United Arab Emirates. The kerosene-fueled Soyuz ST-A launcher lifted…