Tag: France
-
Live coverage: MASCOT lander begins exploring asteroid Ryugu
Live coverage of the final descent and landing of MASCOT, a miniature robot developed in Germany and France carried aboard Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft exploring asteroid Ryugu. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Check this page for live updates during MASCOT’s missing at Ryugu.
-
Arianespace signs Eutelsat as first commercial customer for new Ariane 6 rocket
Artist’s concept of an Ariane 6 rocket, in a configuration with four strap-on solid rocket boosters. Credit: ESA Eutelsat is the first commercial company to commit to launching on Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket, under a five-launch agreement announced Monday in conjunction with fresh contracts for Arianespace to haul a French spy satellite and a…
-
Hayabusa 2 team sets dates for asteroid landings
Hayabusa 2’s optical navigation camera captured this view of asteroid Ryugu from a distance of 6 kilometers (4 miles) on July 20. Credit: JAXA Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is preparing to release three hopping robots to land on asteroid Ryugu in the coming month, with tiny instruments scientists hope will explore the airless world’s boulder-strewn…
-
Hayabusa 2 probe gets a closer look at asteroid amid landing preps
A wide-angle optical navigation camera on the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft captured this view of asteroid Ryugu on Aug. 6 as the spacecraft approached to a distance of less than 2,800 feet (851 meters) from the object. Credit: JAXA, University Tokyo, Koichi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu,…
-
InSight lander flown to California for final launch preps
NASA’s InSight spacecraft, seen here in its launch configuration shortly after arriving at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, is set for launch May 5. Credit: Lockheed Martin NASA’s robotic InSight Mars lander arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this week aboard a U.S. Air Force cargo plane, ready for final testing, fueling and…
-
Photos: Vega rocket lifts off from French Guiana
A four-stage Vega rocket streaked into space Tuesday night from French Guiana, hauling two Israeli-made satellites into polar orbit on military surveillance and environmental research missions. The 98-foot-tall (30-meter) rocket took off at 0158:33 GMT Wednesday (9:58:33 p.m. EDT; 10:58:33 p.m. French Guiana time) with the Optsat 3000 and Venµs spacecraft, each weighing less than a…
-
Vega launcher achieves on-target deployment of Earth-imaging satellites
Firing off a launch pad on the fringes of the Amazon rainforest, a European Vega rocket climbed into space Tuesday night and deployed a new optical surveillance craft for the Italian military and a French-Israeli environmental satellite to monitor vegetation, snow cover and coastal waterways. The Optsat 3000 and Venµs satellites lifted off at 0158:33…
-
Live coverage: Arianespace launches 10th Vega rocket
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega rocket with the Optsat 3000 and Venµs Earth observation satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Watch on a mobile device. Arianespace’s live video stream begins at approximately 0145 GMT (9:45 p.m. EDT).
-
Timeline for Vega launch with Optsat 3000 and Venµs
A Vega rocket is set to deliver two satellites into similar but distinct orbits for the Italian military and the French and Israeli space agencies. Here are the key events scheduled during the European Vega rocket’s launch from French Guiana with the Italian military’s Optsat 3000 high-resolution reconnaissance satellite and the French-Israeli Venµs environmental satellite.…
-
Two Israeli-built satellites set for launch Tuesday
The Optsat 3000 satellite, seen at top, awaits encapsulation inside the Vega rocket’s payload fairing last month. The Venµs spacecraft is closed up inside the black dual-payload structure below Optsat 3000. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin A European Vega rocket is scheduled to launch Tuesday from a tropical spaceport…