SPACENEWS

ESA Ariane 6 early combined tests at Latesys in Fos-sur-Mer, in France, have simulated the moment of liftoff when the umbilicals separate from the launch vehicle. These tests are part of the critical path towards the first flight of Europe’s new Ariane 6 launch vehicle. They validate the interfaces and mechanical behaviour during separation of Read More

The Month of Ingenuity: Mars Helicopter Flights The Mars Helicopter, which hitched a ride to Mars beneath the Perseverance rover, is nearly ready to be released to surface for its upcoming test flights. Tune in for an interactive webinar preview on April 5 at 10:30 a.m. PDT/1:30 p.m. EDT Live Webinar Q&A | Meet the Read More

NASA/Joel Kowsky A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station on Nov. 15, 2020, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is targeted for no earlier than Thursday, April 22, at 6:11 a.m. EDT. NASA invites the Read More

ESA / With Easter right around the corner, we take a look at four egg-shaped buildings visible from space as captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. Eggs are an ancient symbol of new life, associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to the 13th century. One Read More

ESA’s M-Argo mission will be the first CubeSat to traverse interplanetary space under its own power. Due to launch in 2024-5, the suitcase-sized spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, up to 150 million km away. CubeSats are small, cheap satellites assembled from standardised parts in 10 cm boxes – M-Argo is a 12-unit CubeSat. Read More

ESA Applications are open for ESA’s first astronaut selection in over a decade, and all qualified candidates are encouraged to put themselves forward. Vacancy notices “Astronaut” and “Astronaut (with a physical disability)” have been posted to jobs.esa.int. Applications must be submitted via this site before 28 May 2021 to be considered for selection and important Read More

Our galaxy is surrounded by numerous ‘satellite’ galaxies, the largest being the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The LMC is a complex mix of stars, gas and molecular clouds, and hosts many fascinating celestial objects and features – including the huge and luminous region of 30 Doradus, otherwise known as the Tarantula Nebula. This nebula is Read More

The ESAIL microsatellite for making the seas safer has picked up more than two million messages from 70 000 ships in a single day. The reliable high-performance satellite was developed as an ESA Partnership Project to help European and Canadian space companies succeed in the competitive global telecommunications market. It enables industry, maritime authorities and governments Read More

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has started training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA. Set to launch for her second mission in spring 2022, Samantha is already getting reacquainted with International Space Station systems in a series of refresher courses. Date: 03-19-2021 Location: Bldg 9, ISS Mockups Subject: SpaceX Crew-4 ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti Read More

ESA As part of its Boost! programme, ESA has signed two new contracts which support UK-based Orbex and Skyrora in their separate proposals for new commercial launch services for small satellites. These services are set to start in the UK from 2022. ESA has awarded €7.45 m of co-funding to Orbex and its partners, and Read More