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Ariane 6 launch: how to watch and what to look out for
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By Space Force
The mission successfully achieved a complex effort across multiple Space Force organizations to pull an existing GPS III satellite from storage, accelerate integration and launch vehicle readiness, and rapidly process for launch.
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:11:10 In 2024, ESA continued to drive Europe’s innovation and excellence in space, equipping the continent with advanced tools and knowledge to address global and local challenges. The year saw pioneering missions, cutting-edge satellites and the pivotal restoration of Europe’s independent access to space.
The first Ariane 6 launch was perhaps ‘the’ highlight of the year but it was only one of many achievements. We saw the last Vega launch and then the return to flight of Vega-C, the more powerful, upgraded version carrying Sentinel-1C.
Far away in our Solar System, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft performed twoMercury flybys in 2024, needed so that it can enter orbit around Mercury in 2026. Juice also performed a crucial gravity assist, this time becoming the first spacecraft to conduct a Moon-Earth double flyby on its way to Jupiter.
Twenty years after ESA’s Rosetta was launched and 10 years since its historic arrival at the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, we launched another spacecraft to a small body, the Hera planetary defence mission to investigate asteroid Dimorphos.
2024 was an important year for Europe’s Galileo constellation which continued to expand with the launch of four new satellites and an updated Galileo ground system. The year also saw the launch of ESA’s Proba-3 mission: two precision formation-flying satellites forming a solar coronagraph to study the Sun’s faint corona.
In human spaceflight, Europe continues to contribute to science from the ISS as Andreas Mogensen’s Huginn mission continued into 2024. Andreas even met up in space with ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt who was launched on his Muninn mission, making it the first time two Scandinavians were in space together.
Meanwhile the latest class of ESA astronauts completed basic training and graduated in April. Two of them, Sophie and Raphaël, were then assigned to long-duration missions to the ISS in 2026.
We made crucial steps for Europe in gaining access to the Moon: the inauguration of our LUNA facility with DLR, and the delivery of a third European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis programme.
Europe is also contributing to the international Lunar Gateway and developing and ESA lunar lander called Argonaut. These landers will rely on ESA Moonlight, the programme to establish Europe’s first dedicated satellite constellation for lunar communication and navigation.
As 2024 draws to a close, ESA’s achievements this year have reinforced Europe’s role in space. ESA’s journey continues to explore new frontiers, shaping the space landscape for generations to come.
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By NASA
NASA’s SPHEREx observatory undergoes integration and testing at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado, in April 2024. The space telescope will use a technique called spectroscopy across the entire sky, capturing the universe in more than 100 colors. BAE Systems Registration is open for digital content creators to attend the launch of NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission, and NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission. SPHEREx will provide the first all-sky spectral survey, collecting data on more than 450 million galaxies along with more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way in order to explore the origins of the universe. PUNCH is a constellation of four small satellites in low-Earth orbit that will make global, 3D observations of the Sun’s corona to learn how the mass and energy there become solar wind.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than February 2025 for the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
If your passion is to communicate and engage the world online, then this is the event for you! Seize the opportunity to see and share the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions’ launch.
A maximum of 50 social media users will be selected to attend this one-day event and will be given access similar to news media.
NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to:
View the launch of the SPHEREx and PUNCH satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Tour NASA facilities at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Meet and interact with SPHEREx and PUNCH subject matter experts. Meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media. NASA Social registration for the SPHEREx and PUNCH launch opens on Monday, Dec. 9, and the deadline to apply is Monday, Dec. 23 at noon ET. All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
APPLY NOW
Do I need to have a social media account to register?
Yes. This event is designed for people who:
Actively use multiple social networking platforms and tools to disseminate information to a unique audience. Regularly produce new content that features multimedia elements. Have the potential to reach a large number of people using digital platforms, or reach a unique audience, separate and distinctive from traditional news media and/or NASA audiences. Must have an established history of posting content on social media platforms. Have previous postings that are highly visible, respected, and widely recognized. Users on all social networks are encouraged to use the hashtag #NASASocial. Updates and information about the event will be shared via @NASASocial and @NASA_LSP on X and via posts to LSP’s Facebook.
How do I register?
Registration for this event opens Monday, Dec. 9, and closes Monday, Dec. 23 at noon ET. Registration is for one person only (you) and is nontransferable. Each individual wishing to attend must register separately. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Can I register if I am not a U.S. citizen?
Because of the security restrictions on the Space Force base, registration is limited to U.S. citizens. If you have a valid permanent resident card, you will be processed as a U.S. citizen.
When will I know if I am selected?
After registrations have been received and processed, an email with confirmation information and additional instructions will be sent to those selected. We expect to send the acceptance notifications by Jan. 31.
What are NASA Social credentials?
All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Those chosen must prove through the registration process that they meet specific engagement criteria.
If you do not make the registration list for this NASA Social, you still can attend the launch offsite and participate in the conversation online.
What are the registration requirements?
Registration indicates your intent to travel to Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and attend the one-day event in person. You are responsible for your own expenses for travel, accommodations, food, and other amenities.
Some events and participants scheduled to appear at the event are subject to change without notice. NASA is not responsible for loss or damage incurred as a result of attending. NASA, moreover, is not responsible for loss or damage incurred if the event is cancelled with limited or no notice. Please plan accordingly.
Vandenberg is a government facility. Those who are selected will need to complete an additional registration step to receive clearance to enter the secure areas.
IMPORTANT: To be admitted, you will need to provide two forms of unexpired government-issued identification; one must be a photo ID and match the name provided on the registration. Those without proper identification cannot be admitted.
For a complete list of acceptable forms of ID, please visit: NASA Credentialing Identification Requirements.
All registrants must be at least 18 years old.
What if the launch date changes?
Many different factors can cause a scheduled launch date to change multiple times. If the launch date changes, NASA may adjust the date of the NASA Social accordingly to coincide with the new target launch date. NASA will notify registrants of any changes by email.
If the launch is postponed, attendees will be invited to attend a later launch date. NASA cannot accommodate attendees for delays beyond 72 hours.
NASA Social attendees are responsible for any additional costs they incur related to any launch delay. We strongly encourage participants to make travel arrangements that are refundable and/or flexible.
What if I cannot come to Vandenberg Space Force Base?
If you cannot come to Vandenberg Space Force Base and attend in person, you should not register for the NASA Social. You can follow the conversation online using #NASASocial.
You can watch the launch on NASA+ or plus.nasa.gov/. NASA will provide regular launch and mission updates on @NASA and @NASA_LSP on X.
If you cannot make this NASA Social, don’t worry; NASA is planning many other Socials in the near future at various locations! Check back here for updates.
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
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Overview The Sun’s gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything – from the biggest planets to the smallest particles…
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Galaxies consist of stars, planets, and vast clouds of gas and dust, all bound together by gravity. The largest contain…
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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This animation shows data taken by NASA’s PACE and the international SWOT satellites over a region of the North Atlantic Ocean. PACE captured phytoplankton data on Aug. 8, 2024; layered on top is SWOT sea level data taken on Aug. 7 and 8, 2024. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio One Earth satellite can see plankton that photosynthesize. The other measures water surface height. Together, their data reveals how sea life and the ocean are intertwined.
The ocean is an engine that drives Earth’s weather patterns and climate and sustains a substantial portion of life on the planet. A new animation based on data from two recently launched missions — NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) and the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellites — gives a peek into the heart of that engine.
Physical processes, including localized swirling water masses called eddies and the vertical movement of water, can drive nutrient availability in the ocean. In turn, those nutrients determine the location and concentration of tiny floating organisms known as phytoplankton that photosynthesize, converting sunlight into food. These organisms have not only contributed roughly half of Earth’s oxygen since the planet formed, but also support economically important fisheries and help draw carbon out of the atmosphere, locking it away in the deep sea.
“We see great opportunity to dramatically accelerate our scientific understanding of our oceans and the significant role they play in our Earth system,” said Karen St. Germain, director of the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This visualization illustrates the potential we have when we begin to integrate measurements from our separate SWOT and PACE ocean missions. Each of those missions is significant on its own. But bringing their data together — the physics from SWOT and the biology from PACE — gives us an even better view of what’s happening in our oceans, how they are changing, and why.”
A collaboration between NASA and the French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), the SWOT’ satellite launched in December 2022 to measure the height of nearly all water on Earth’s surface. It is providing one of the most detailed, comprehensive views yet of the planet’s ocean and its freshwater lakes, reservoirs, and rivers.
Launched in February 2024, NASA’s PACE satellite detects and measures the distribution of phytoplankton communities in the ocean. It also provides data on the size, amount, and type of tiny particles called aerosols in Earth’s atmosphere, as well as the height, thickness, and opacity of clouds.
“Integrating information across NASA’s Earth System Observatory and its pathfinder missions SWOT and PACE is an exciting new frontier in Earth science,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, program scientist for SWOT and the Integrated Earth System Observatory at NASA Headquarters.
Where Physics and Biology Meet
The animation above starts by depicting the orbits of SWOT (orange) and PACE (light blue), then zooms into the North Atlantic Ocean. The first data to appear was acquired by PACE on Aug. 8. It reveals concentrations of chlorophyll-a, a vital pigment for photosynthesis in plants and phytoplankton. Light green and yellow indicate higher concentrations of chlorophyll-a, while blue signals lower concentrations.
Next is sea surface height data from SWOT, taken during several passes over the same region between Aug. 7 and 8. Dark blue represents heights that are lower than the mean sea surface height, while dark orange and red represent heights higher than the mean. The contour lines that remain once the color fades from the SWOT data indicate areas of the ocean with the same height, much like the lines on a topographic map indicate areas with the same elevation.
The underlying PACE data then cycles through several groups of phytoplankton, starting with picoeukaryotes. Lighter green indicates greater concentrations of this group. The final two groups are cyanobacteria — some of the smallest and most abundant phytoplankton in the ocean — called Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. For Prochlorococcus, lighter raspberry colors represent higher concentrations. Lighter teal colors for Synechococcus signal greater amounts of the cyanobacteria.
The animation shows that higher phytoplankton concentrations on Aug. 8 tended to coincide with areas of lower water height. Eddies that spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere tend to draw water away from their center. This results in relatively lower sea surface heights in the center that draw up cooler, nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean. These nutrients act like fertilizer, which can boost phytoplankton growth in sunlit waters at the surface.
Overlapping SWOT and PACE data enables a better understanding of the connections between ocean dynamics and aquatic ecosystems, which can help improve the management of resources such as fisheries, since phytoplankton form the base of most food chains in the sea. Integrating these kinds of datasets also helps to improve calculations of how much carbon is exchanged between the atmosphere and the ocean. This, in turn, can indicate whether regions of the ocean that absorb excess atmospheric carbon are changing.
More About SWOT
The SWOT satellite was jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project. For the flight system payload, NASA provided the Ka-band radar interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations. The Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (developed by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground operations were provided by CNES. The KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly was provided by CSA.
To learn more about SWOT, visit:
https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov
More About PACE
The PACE mission is managed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, which also built and tested the spacecraft and the Ocean Color Instrument, which collected the data shown in the visualization. The satellite’s Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter #2 was designed and built by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the Spectro-polarimeter for Planetary Exploration was developed and built by a Dutch consortium led by Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Airbus Defence, and Space Netherlands.
To learn more about PACE, visit:
https://pace.gsfc.nasa.gov
News Media Contacts
Jacob Richmond (for PACE)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
jacob.a.richmond@nasa.gov
Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang (for SWOT)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874
jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov
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Last Updated Dec 09, 2024 Related Terms
PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) Climate Science Oceans SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) Explore More
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