Tag: Vega

  • Vega successfully launches Sentinel-2A mission

    Vega successfully launches Sentinel-2A mission

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    Arianespace’s Vega rocket successfully completed her fifth launch, this time lofting the Sentinel-2A satellite – the latest spacecraft in Europe’s series of Earth observation satellites for the Copernicus initiative. Launch took place at 01:52 GMT (Tuesday) from launch pad ELA-1 at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana – ahead of a smooth 55 minute ride to…

  • ‘Europe’s Landsat’ in the starting blocks

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    Artist’s concept of the Sentinel 2A satellite in orbit. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab The first in a planned multi-decade series of European land imaging satellites is fastened on top of a solid-fueled Vega launcher at a French Guiana space base for liftoff Monday, kicking off a mission to track everything from global crop growth to urban…

  • France to privatize its Arianespace shares

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    Artist’s concept of the Ariane 6 rocket with four solid rocket boosters. Credit: ESA–D. Ducros, 2014 The French government has signaled its intention to sell its stake in Arianespace, a major step in consolidating the European launcher industry under the control of a joint venture formed by Airbus and rocket engine manufacturer Safran. The move…

  • Environmental satellite with ‘color vision’ lands in French Guiana

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    The Sentinel 2A spacecraft is seen during a solar array deployment test in early April at a test facility operated by IABG in Munich, Germany. Credit: ESA/M. Pedoussaut Wrapped inside a protective shipping container, Europe’s Sentinel 2A land imaging satellite flew from Germany to French Guiana this week aboard an Antonov transport plane to prepare…

  • Vega wins contract to launch Peruvian military satellite

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    Arianespace chairman and CEO Stephane Israel (left) and Airbus Defense and Space head of space programs Eric Beranger sign the launch contract for PeruSat 1 at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris. Credit: Airbus Defense and Space Arianespace will pair a Peruvian military reconnaissance satellite with a package of four commercial Skybox Earth…

  • IXV’s Pride: Europe’s spaceplane homecoming prelude to future goals

    IXV’s Pride: Europe’s spaceplane homecoming prelude to future goals

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    ESA’s Intermediate Experimental Vehicle (IXV) is now enjoying the final leg of her mission, onboard the Nos Aries recovery ship. The vehicle – part of ESA’s future spaceplane aspirations – was plucked out of the Pacific Ocean at the conclusion of her suborbital adventure this month and is now being shipped back to her home in Italy,…

  • Engineers to assess reusability of Europe’s wingless space plane

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    Europe’s IXV re-entry demonstrator is lifted out of the Pacific Ocean onto the Nos Aries recovery ship after Wednesday’s test flight. Credit: ESA–Tommaso Javidi, 2015 Back on Earth after a whirlwind journey 20,000 miles around the world, an experimental re-entry demonstrator is on the way to Europe for post-flight inspections aimed at gathering design inputs…

  • Fire in the hole! Vega fires away from jungle spaceport

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    A solid-fueled Vega launcher zipped away from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, with Europe’s IXV mission Wednesday, boosting a miniature lifting body spacecraft on a globe-spanning test flight to validate technologies for future space transportation systems. The fourth flight of the European Vega rocket — and its first in full daylight — blasted…

  • European space plane flies around the world on test flight

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    Artist’s concept of the Intermediate Experimental Vehicle. Credit: ESA Europe launched a sleek new space plane more than 250 miles above Earth on Wednesday, testing its maneuverability, on-board guidance systems, and a next-generation heat shield as the experimental vehicle glided through the atmosphere toward a pinpoint splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The test flight marked…

  • European space plane flies around the world on test flight

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    Artist’s concept of the Intermediate Experimental Vehicle. Credit: ESA Europe launched a sleek new space plane more than 250 miles above Earth on Wednesday, testing its maneuverability, on-board guidance systems, and a next-generation heat shield as the experimental vehicle glided through the atmosphere toward a pinpoint splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The test flight marked…