Vega’s first launch this year
ESA / Decollage champ large, le 28-04-2021 Liftoff of Vega from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana came at 02:50 BST on 29 April (03:50 CEST; 22:50 local time on 28 April) to deliver Pléiades Neo-3 and five auxiliary payloads into their respective orbits. On this flight, Vega made use of part of its ESA-developed Small Read More
Spacecraft magnetic valve used to fill drinks
ESA A precision magnetic valve originally designed to help steer a lander down to a comet has found a surprise terrestrial use through ESA’s Technology Transfer and Patent Office: adding flavours to beverages within a few thousandths of a second per each can or bottle. Modern filling carousels for beverages are already miracles of automation, Read More
Forest measuring satellite passes tests with flying colours
ESA With challenges imposed by the Covid pandemic, engineers building and testing ESA’s Biomass satellite have had to come up with some clever working methods to keep on track whilst adhering to safety rules. The result is that the satellite structure is not only complete, but has also undergone a series of demanding tests to Read More
A busy day at Port Canaveral for NASA & SpaceX
Port Canaveral Florida was rocking rockets today in fact two very different but historic rockets & barges. Fresh off its Hot Fire Green Run test the NASA SLS Artemis core stage with four RS-25 engines arrived from the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on an expanded & renovated Pegasus barge to be off Read More
United Launch Alliance Honors Three Suppliers with Small Business Excellence Award
United Launch Alliance recently honored three suppliers with a 2020 Small Business Excellence award for their support of the Vulcan Centaur program. The Vulcan Centaur is ULA’s next-generation rocket that will provide higher performance and greater affordability while continuing to deliver reliability and precision. This rocket will transform the future of space launch and will Read More
United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches NROL-82 Mission to Support National Security
Delta IV Heavy heavy-lift performance optimized mission A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle carrying the NROL-82 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off from Space Launch Complex-6 on April 26 at 1:47 p.m. PDT. To date ULA has launched 143 times with 100 percent mission success. photo ULA “The Read More
ESA to live tweet asteroid impact exercise
ESA / For almost a decade, world asteroid experts have been meeting every two years at the Planetary Defense Conference and pretending an asteroid impact is imminent. Why? To prepare for the unlikely – but plausible – scenario in which this comes true. For the second time in the conference's history, this major international asteroid Read More
SpaceX and Nasa launch four more Astronauts with a previously flow flight proven capsule and first stage booster!
With the sun beginning to rise from the Atlantic Ocean horizon a very long Jellyfish Phenomenon occured downrange with the addition of the first stage booster B-1061.2 pulsating thrusters plume while orientating itself for reentry and landing on OCISLY. The first stage booster did successfully land on the SpaceX drone ship. A truly stunning, amazing Read More
United Launch Alliance to Launch NROL-82 Mission to Support National Security
Delta IV Heavy heavy-lift performance required for mission A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket is in final preparations to launch the NROL-82 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to support national security. The launch is on track for April 26 from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Launch is Read More
Mission Alpha liftoff, with video
23/04/2021 1330 views 32 likes 455519 ID 00:04:13 Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide. The Crew-2 spend around 24 hours travelling to the International Space Station. The rocket lifted off at 11:49 on 23 Read More