Ariane 6 stands tall on its launch pad
The Ariane 6 launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana now hosts for the first time a fully assembled example of ESA’s new heavy-lift rocket, following the addition of an upper composite to the core stage and four boosters already in place. The upper composite – consisting of two half-fairings and a payload mock-up Read More
Down to Earth
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is all smiles after arriving in Cologne, Germany, less than a day after leaving the International Space Station. Speaking to media, she said, “I'm happy to be back and thankful for this incredible opportunity. I'm looking forward to be with my loved ones now and also to continue the scientific experiments Read More
ENAIRE recovered 94% of flights in September compared to the record levels of 2019
Over 191,000 flights The recovery of air traffic in Spain exceeded the European average by seven percentage pointsThe flights managed in Seville rose by 4.3%Seventh consecutive month of traffic growth in the Balearic IslandsInternational flights in the Canary Islands increased by 1.3%Domestic air traffic controlled from Barcelona rose 4.1%Compared to the number of flights in Read More
First Eurostar Neo satellite launched
The first satellite to be built under ESA’s Eurostar Neo programme has launched. The satellite – called Eutelsat Hotbird 13F – was developed and built by satellite manufacturer Airbus for satellite operator Eutelsat. It is based on the Eurostar Neo telecommunications satellite platform, developed under an ESA Partnership Project with Airbus designed to foster innovation Read More
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti returns from her second mission to the International Space Station ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti returned to Earth alongside NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins, marking the end of her second mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Minerva. GMT190_11_43_For ESA_Samantha Cristoforetti_Acoustic Diagnostics Collectively known as Crew-4, Samantha and her Read More
Homeward bound
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti looks out the window of the cupola while the International Space Station flies above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru. Taken earlier this month, this image captures one of Samantha’s favourite things to do in space – in addition to performing research or spacewalks – looking down on our Read More
ESA – From Space to Rome
Agency In October 2022, ESA Space Shop opened its first temporary concept store on one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets. Located in Rome’s city centre, the first physical ESA Space Shop outside an ESA establishment aims to bring ESA and its space missions closer to the general public. For a period of three months only, Read More
Earth from Space: Mississippi River
Mississippi River, one of the longest rivers in North America, is featured in this multi-temporal radar image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission. Click on the image below to explore it in its full resolution. The Mississippi River is one of the world’s major river systems in size, habitat diversity and biological productivity. The river Read More
Seeing how a spacecraft dies
This simulation of ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) space truck reentering Earth’s atmosphere starts by representing the surrounding of the spacecraft as a three-dimensional cloud of interconnected points, a so-called ‘computational grid’. This forms part of the process of modelling the hypersonic motion of gases around the falling spacecraft through ‘Computational Fluid Dynamics’. This study Read More
ULA Sets Path Forward for Inaugural Vulcan Flight Test
Next generation rocket to transform the future of space launch United Launch Alliance (ULA) is nearing completion of the development of the next-generation Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle and sets path for its first launch early next year. “We could not be more excited to be this close to seeing Vulcan lift off on its inaugural flight,” Read More