Category: Tech

SpaceX launched and landed their prototype test vehicle Starship SN-10 but was destroyed in an explosion and fire on the landing pad at Boca Chica Texas just after 5 PM CST. read our report here with photos from launch http://www.spacenews.lu/spacex-prototype-test-vehicle-starship-sn10-on-march-3rd/ photos Scott Schilke Read More

On March 3rd 2021 SpaceX launched and landed their prototype test vehicle Starship SN-10 but was destroyed in an explosion and fire on the landing pad at Boca Chica Texas just after 5 PM CST. Earlier in the day during the first launch attempt the rocket ignited it's three Raptor test engines and automatically aborted Read More

Designing and building equipment for space is hard enough; then comes the writing of its accompanying documentation. Creating a working space mission involves putting together a vast number of elements correctly, so such guidelines need to be clear and easy to understand. ESA is leading efforts to create standardised ‘Electronic Data Sheets’ for common use Read More

Watch the replay of the briefing to media representatives to learn more about the next spaceflight of ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. During the event, Samantha was joined by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker, and Italian space agency president Giorgio Saccoccia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI1Xhu3fYus&feature=emb_logo Samantha is a member of Read More

Flight termination hardware has been installed on the rocket. The landing pad has been widened and is now much thicker with a freshly painted SpaceX logo applied to it. This will be the third landing attempt by a prototype Starship rocket. For the most part SN8 & SN9 had successfull test flights with good data Read More

As of today, 1 March 2021, ESA has a new Director General: Dr Josef Aschbacher, who has taken up duty at ESA Headquarters in Paris, France. The ESA Council appointed Dr Aschbacher in December 2020 as the next Director General of ESA, for a period of four years. He succeeds Prof. Jan Wörner, whose term Read More

An adapted version of a composite bulkhead that safeguards satellites during their ascent on the ESA-developed Ariane 5 launch vehicle has been tested for service aboard single aisle Airbus aircraft. Fitted in the rear tail cone, it would serve as a firewall to protect passengers in the event of the rear auxiliary power unit engine Read More

Expansion of services allows German viewers to enjoy WDR’s TV programming in HD quality The leading German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), regional member of the ARD broadcasting group operating in North Rhine-Westphalia, has expanded its partnership with SES to secure an additional transponder for High Definition (HD) programming on ASTRA 19.2 degrees East orbital Read More

The ESA-Roscosmos Trace Gas Orbiter has spotted NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, along with its parachute and back shell, heat shield and descent stage, in the Jezero Crater region of Mars. The images were captured with the orbiter’s CaSSIS camera on 23 February 2021. The components are labelled and are seen as dark or bright Read More

An epic ‘Space Symphony’ composed by Germany’s BigCityBeats is set to add musical goosebumps to the preparations of ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer for his Cosmic Kiss space mission, thanks to a new cooperation with ESA. This autumn, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer will become the fourth German astronaut to visit the International Space Station, and the Read More