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European Space Agency

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Everything posted by European Space Agency

  1. Image: Ariane 6 launches to the sky on 9 July 2024. Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket, it is designed to provide great power and flexibility at a lower cost than its predecessors. The launcher’s configuration – with an upgraded main stage, a choice of either two or four powerful boosters and a new restartable upper stage – will provide Europe with greater efficiency and possibility as it can launch multiple missions into different orbits on a single flight, while its upper stage will deorbit itself at the end of mission. View the full article
  2. Image: Ariane 6 launches to the sky on 9 July 2024. Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket, it is designed to provide great power and flexibility at a lower cost than its predecessors. The launcher’s configuration – with an upgraded main stage, a choice of either two or four powerful boosters and a new restartable upper stage – will provide Europe with greater efficiency and possibility as it can launch multiple missions into different orbits on a single flight, while its upper stage will deorbit itself at the end of mission. View the full article
  3. Image: Launch of Ariane 6 VA262 on 9 July 2024 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. This is Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket, designed to provide greater power and flexibility at a lower cost than its predecessors. The launcher’s configuration – with an upgraded main stage, a choice of either two or four powerful boosters and a new restartable upper stage – will provide Europe with greater efficiency and possibility as it can launch multiple missions into different orbits on a single flight, while its upper stage will be able to deorbit itself at the end of missions. View the full article
  4. Image: Ariane 6 launches to the sky on 9 July 2024. Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket, it is designed to provide great power and flexibility at a lower cost than its predecessors. The launcher’s configuration – with an upgraded main stage, a choice of either two or four powerful boosters and a new restartable upper stage – will provide Europe with greater efficiency and possibility as it can launch multiple missions into different orbits on a single flight, while its upper stage will deorbit itself at the end of mission. View the full article
  5. Video: 00:14:53 In the second episode of this docu series, we take a closer look into what it took to build ESA’s Young Professional Satellite (YPSat). YPSat’s mission objectives are to capture the key moments of Ariane 6’s inaugural flight and take in-orbit pictures of Earth and space. To achieve this, the satellite requires the multiple sub-systems to work in harmony and adhere to a pre-defined mission sequence. This episode zooms in four of the sub-systems: the Wake-Up System (WUS), Battery, On-Board Computer (OBC) and Telecommunications. Running at ultra low power, the WUS circuit board was designed, tested and manufactured specifically for YPSat. Created to meet Arianespace’s requirement to be operational on the launchpad for 45 days, its function is to wake up the satellite during the launch to record the fairing separation. Once the WUS detects the launch, it will signal to the battery to turn on the rest of the satellite. The battery has the challenge to maintain enough charge to power the remainder of the components. The On-Board Computer (OBC) then takes the lead to orchestrate the rest of the mission. The OBC acts as the brain of the satellites; it sends commands to all the other sub-systems, including sending the commands to record the videos and pictures. Once these are captured, the Telecommunications team takes over to coordinate with the ground stations to send the data back on Earth so it can be decoded into clear images. The challenge is to ensure enough communication between the satellite and Earth so the data is properly retrieved before the YPSat disintegrates upon re-entry. One day prior launch, YPSat is now sitting in Ariane 6’s capsule. To get there, the satellite was subject to rigorous tests and certifications to meet the stringent standards of the European Space Agency and Arianespace. Will YPSat accomplish its mission objectives? We'll find out in the next episode. Credits: Directed and produced by Chilled Winston: https://chilledwinston.com/ and Emma de Cocker Powered by ESA - European Space Agency Music from Epidemic Sound View the full article
  6. Video: 00:02:54 On Saturday 29 June, thousands of visitors made their way to ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT), as part of the very first ESA open day to be held in the UK. ECSAT is located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire and the ESA open day formed part of the campus-wide Harwell open week. The open day, hosted by ESA’s Magali Vaissiere Conference Centre, featured fascinating talks and activities that enabled people to experience first-hand how ESA is pushing the boundaries of exploration and using space to improve life on Earth. It also showcased the many career and learning opportunities in the space industry that are open to young people. You can discover more about ESA’s first open day in the UK here. View the full article
  7. Week in images: 01-05 July 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
  8. Video: 00:05:13 Ariane 6 is the newest rocket in a series that has, for five decades, been launching Europe towards the stars. Building on all the knowledge, expertise and technology developed over the years, Ariane 6 will be versatile, modular, and European. Guaranteeing Europe’s access to space for the next years, Ariane 6 in two versions, with either two or four boosters attached depending on the ‘oomph’ the mission requires. Versatile, its upper stage can reignite multiple times during a single flight, placing any spacecraft into any orbit – including constellations – saving a final boost to return and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. Modular, it will be continuously adapted to the needs of the future space sector. Four organisations take care of the Ariane 6 programme: ESA at the head, ArianeGroup as the main contractor, CNES who designed and built the launchpad and ArianeSpace who sell the launches. 13 countries contribute, thousands of Europeans have worked on it, and every one of us will benefit from the Earth observation, science, technologies and services it will make possible. View the full article
  9. Image: Webb admires bejewelled ring View the full article
  10. Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured a rare, cloud-free image over the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean. View the full article
  11. ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter, the first spacecraft that will rendezvous and capture an object around another planet, passed a key milestone to bring the first Mars samples back to Earth. View the full article
  12. Image: Ariane 6 first flight timeline View the full article
  13. Offering a foretaste of what’s to come once it is fully commissioned, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has returned the first images from its broadband radiometer instrument. These initial images offer a tantalising glimpse into the intricacies of our planet’s energy balance – a delicate balance that governs our climate. View the full article
  14. Image: Eye test for lunar impact surveyor View the full article
  15. Image: Ariane 6 first passengers View the full article
  16. A network of ground stations around the world, including two owned by ESA, will track the debut flight of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket. They will monitor key phases of the flight and gather telemetry and video that will be used to analyse the rocket’s performance and optimise future launches. View the full article
  17. Video: 00:02:05 Space weather can affect satellites in orbit, trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth and interfere with ground infrastructure. We need to understand it better, and the best way to do that is look at where it comes from. The Sun’s corona, its upper atmospheric layer, gives rise to the solar wind and is where coronal mass ejections are spawned: massive outward explosions of charged plasma. ESA’s Proba-3 double-satellite mission will use formation flying to open up sustained coronal views. Mimicking a total solar eclipse, one satellite will block out the fiery face of the Sun by casting a shadow onto the other. This means the mission can observe the fine-scale structures of the corona without being blinded by the Sun’s glare. View the full article
  18. Thousands of visitors flocked to ESA’s establishment in the UK last Saturday to experience first-hand how the agency is pushing the boundaries of exploration and using space to improve life on Earth. View the full article
  19. A fascinating feature takes centre stage in this new image from ESA’s Mars Express: a dark, uneven scar slicing through marbled ground at the foot of a giant volcano. View the full article
  20. Artificial intelligence technologies have achieved remarkable successes and continue to show their value as backbones in scientific research and real-world applications. ESA’s new Φsat-2 mission, launching in the coming weeks, will push the boundaries of AI for Earth observation – demonstrating the transformative potential of AI for space technology. View the full article
  21. Video: 00:38:43 Australian Space Agency astronaut candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg joined ESA’s astronaut candidates from the class of 2022 for basic training through a cooperation agreement with ESA. Tune in as she shares her experiences in astronaut training, her favourite lessons, and what keeps her inspired on her journey to the stars! This is episode 7 of our ESA Explores podcast series introducing the ESA astronaut class of 2022, recorded in March 2024. Find out more about the ESA astronaut class of 2022. Access all ESA Explores podcasts. View the full article
  22. Week in images: 24-28 June 2024 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
  23. Video: 00:03:00 On 20 June 2024 the first Ariane 6 rocket to launch into space went through its last full ‘wet dress rehearsal’ at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana – it provided an exciting sneak peek of what’s to come, stopping just a few seconds before engine ignition and of course, liftoff. One of the first steps was to roll back the colossal 90-m tall Ariane 6 mobile gantry building 120 m away from the launch pad – the first moment the complete rocket stood free. The first parts of Ariane 6 began arriving in French Guiana from continental Europe in February 2024 via the Canopée ‘spaceship’. In March, the main stage and upper stage were assembled, followed by the transfer of the two powerful P120C boosters in April. In May, Ariane 6’s first passengers also arrived in Kourou – a varied selection of experiments, satellites, payload deployers and reentry demonstrations that represent thousands across Europe, from students to industry and experienced space actors NASA and ArianeGroup. The payloads were integrated onto the ‘ballast’ at the end of May, and just a few days ago the ballast was fitted onto the top of the rocket and the fairing closed around it – the last time Ariane 6’s cargo would see light. From Earth observation to technology demonstrations testing wildlife tracking, 3D printing in open space, open-source software and hardware and science missions looking for the most energetic explosions in the universe, the passengers on Ariane 6’s first flight are a testament to the rocket’s adaptability, complexity, and its role for the future – launching any mission, anywhere. View the full article
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