Tag: France
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Earth observation, deep space exploration big winners in new ESA budget
Frédérique Vidal, the French government’s representative and co-chair on the ESA Ministerial Council, ESA director general Jan Wörner, and Manuel Heitor, the Portuguese government’s representative and co-chair on the ESA Ministerial Council. Credit: ESA – S. Corvaja European Space Agency member states on Thursday committed nearly 12.5 billion euros ($13.7 billion) to fund ESA programs…
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Chinese mapping satellite launches on Long March 4B rocket
A Chinese Long March 4B rocket lifted off Sunday with four satellites on-board. Credit: Xinhua An Earth observation satellite designed to collect three-dimensional mapping imagery rode a Long March 4B rocket into orbit Sunday with three smaller spacecraft, including one to test an innovative French-made iodine thruster, and another satellite built for Sudan. Hailed as…
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Oceanography satellite ends 11-year mission
Artist’s concept of the Jason 2 spacecraft in orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech A joint U.S.-European satellite mission that measured rising sea levels for 11 years is ending due to the deteriorating condition of the spacecraft’s power system, officials said Friday. The Jason 2 satellite was designed to operate for three to five years, but it outlived…
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UAE military satellite lost in Vega launch failure
A Vega rocket fired off its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, at 9:53:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0153:03 GMT Thursday), but fell back to Earth minutes after after suffering an in-flight failure. Credit: Arianespace A European Vega launcher failed Wednesday night around two minutes after liftoff from French Guiana and fell into the Atlantic Ocean,…
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Live coverage: Vega rocket fails during launch of UAE surveillance satellite
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega rocket with the Falcon Eye 1 Earth-imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video webcast begins at approximately 0135 GMT (9:35 p.m. EDT), and will be available on this page.
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Vega launch timeline with Falcon Eye 1
The Falcon Eye 1 military reconnaissance satellite for the United Arab Emirates is set to ride a Vega launcher into a 379-mile-high (611-kilometer) orbit Wednesday night from French Guiana on a mission that will take less than one hour from liftoff until spacecraft separation. Liftoff is scheduled for July 10 at 9:53:03 p.m. EDT (0153:03…
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Arianespace delays Vega launch to avoid unfavorable high-altitude winds
EDITOR’S NOTE: Launch postponed again Sunday. The Falcon Eye 1 observation satellite, encapsulated inside the Vega rocket’s Swiss-made payload fairing, is prepared for attachment on top of the launch vehicle. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon The launch from French Guiana of a solid-fueled Vega rocket with a European-built surveillance satellite…
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Mars lander’s ground team begins inspection of stuck instrument
The InSight lander’s robotic arm camera captured this view of the stuck mole from the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument June 30, soon after the arm lifted and moved the instrument’s support structure. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech In a bit of interplanetary troubleshooting, the robot arm on NASA’s InSight Mars lander has lifted a…
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Scientists call on InSight’s robotic arm to assist stalled heat probe on Mars
The self-hammering mole, part of the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) on NASA’s InSight lander, was only partially buried in the soil of Mars as of early June 2019, as shown in this illustration. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Later this month, ground teams will send commands for the InSight lander on Mars to use its…
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InSight lander detects first likely ‘quake’ on Mars
This image of InSight’s seismometer was captured March 19. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Sensors delivered to Mars by NASA’s InSight lander have detected the first signals suggesting seismic activity on the red planet, a major discovery that extends the field of seismology to a new world beyond the Earth and the moon. Scientists announced the detection Tuesday,…