Tag: Galileo
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EU Awards Ariane 6 Contract to Launch Next-Generation Galileo Satellites
The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) has signed a new contract to launch second-generation Galileo navigation satellites using Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket, reinforcing the bloc’s push for independent access to space, the agency said on Tuesday. Under the agreement, the Ariane 6 launcher will deploy two Galileo L18 satellites. Ariane 6, developed…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 and Electron to extend satellite constellations
This week’s manifest includes the delayed launches of a Falcon 9 with Galileo global positioning satellites and an Electron with a second batch of satellites for Kinéis. SpaceX also launched a batch of 20 Starlink satellites from California as the constellation increases to 6,000 operational satellites. Following last weekend’s return and recovery of the Polaris…
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Launch Roundup: Vega retired after final launch; Polaris Dawn lift off
This week, rockets will launch from all over the globe. China’s CASC sent a Chang Zheng 4B on its 50th successful mission to start the week. The final launch of Arianespace’s Vega rocket went off without a hitch. Polaris Dawn launched four private astronauts to low-Earth orbit, during which the world’s first private EVA out…
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SpaceX launches European Commission’s Galileo satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of Galileo satellites for the European Commission’s constellation lifts off from Launch Complex 39A on April 27, 2024. The last time SpaceX launched an expandable Falcon 9 rocket was back in November 2022, 146 missions ago. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now SpaceX hit some notable milestones with the launch…
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Arianespace launches Soyuz ST-B with new batch of Galileo satellites
Arianespace has launched another two Galileo FOC (Full Operation Capability) global navigation satellites for Europe. Following a weather delay on Friday, the two satellites were launched by a Soyuz ST-B Fregat on the VS26 mission on Saturday. Liftoff occurred on December 4, 2021, at 21:19 Kourou time (Dec 5, 00:19 UTC; Dec 4, 7:19 pm…
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Juno illuminates 25 year old Jovian mystery, mission extended to 2025
More than four and a half years after arriving in orbit of Jupiter, NASA’s Juno mission continues to excel at its primary goal of answering outstanding questions about the Jovian system, something highlighted in a recent science release detailing a much drier region of the planet’s upper atmosphere than previously predicted. Meanwhile, with the spacecraft…
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UK government commits $500 million in bid to rescue bankrupt OneWeb
A OneWeb satellite inside the company’s factory in Florida. Credit: OneWeb Satellites The UK government and India’s Bharti Global mobile telecom operator announced Friday they placed the winning bid to purchase OneWeb, which filed for bankruptcy in March while in the early stages of deploying a megaconstellation of broadband satellites. The $1 billion purchase agreement…
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Photos: Ariane 5 blasts off with Galileo satellites
Look back on last week’s blastoff of an Ariane 5 rocket from the edge of the Amazon jungle in French Guiana carrying four Galileo navigation satellites into orbit. The rare morning Ariane 5 launch occurred at 8:25:01 a.m. French Guiana time Wednesday, July 25 (1125:01 GMT; 7:25:01 a.m. EDT). The flight marked the final launch…
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Video: Ariane 5 takes off from French Guiana
Video credit: Arianespace Watch a replay of the liftoff of an Ariane 5 rocket Wednesday from the Guiana Space Center, a spaceport carved from the edge of the Amazon rainforest. The launcher carried four Galileo navigation satellites into orbit. The 155-foot-tall (47-meter) Ariane ES rocket lifted off from the ELA-3 launch pad at 1125 GMT…
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Ariane 5 ES bows out with launch of Galileo quadruplets
The final launch of an Ariane 5 ES rocket will loft another four Galileo satellites from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday – with the launch expected at 11:25 UTC. The launch of satellites will complete the first construction cycle for the constellation. The launch is scheduled to take place just 14 minutes…