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By Space Force
The OSTC will provide expert, independent and ethical representation of the United States in matters primarily involving victim-based offenses.
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:04:41 At some point, statistically speaking, a large asteroid will impact Earth. Whether that’s tomorrow, in ten years, or a problem for our ancestors, ESA is getting prepared.
As part of the world’s first test of asteroid deflection, ESA’s Hera mission will perform a detailed post-impact survey of Dimorphos – the 160-metre asteroid struck, and successfully deflected, by NASA’s DART spacecraft.
Hera will soon study the aftermath. Launching in October 2024, Hera will turn this grand-scale experiment into a well-understood and hopefully repeatable planetary defence technique.
But before Hera and its two CubeSats fly, they’re rigorously tested at ESA’s ESTEC test centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. From the force and noise of the rocket take-off to the sustained vacuum and temperature extremes of deep space, all aspects of Hera’s functioning are checked before they begin their journey, alone in space.
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:01:01 On 1 September 2023 ESA’s all-new Ariane 6 launch vehicle fired its two upper stage engines to simulate the way they will have to operate together at German aerospace agency DLR’s engine test centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany. The test – of the new Vinci engine and a smaller Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) – took place on a purpose-built test bench.
Vinci, the upper stage engine of Ariane 6 fed by liquid hydrogen and oxygen, can be stopped and restarted multiple times – to place satellites into different orbits and then de-orbit the upper stage, so it is not left behind as hazardous debris in space.
The APU makes it possible for Vinci to restart in space, by maintaining adequate pressure in the fuel tanks and preventing bubbles in the fuel lines. The power unit uses small amounts of liquid hydrogen and oxygen from the main tanks – replacing a system which relied on large quantities of tanked helium.
Ariane 6 is an all-new design, created to succeed Ariane 5 as Europe's heavy-lift launch system. This autonomous capability to reach Earth orbit and deep space is the foundation of Europe's vision of space-enabled navigation, Earth observation, scientific and security services. This vision is reality thanks to the sustained dedication of thousands of talented people working in ESA's 22 Member States who call themselves #SpaceTeamEurope.
ESA owns and manages the Ariane 6 programme and defines its performance objectives; ArianeGroup is the prime contractor, and launch operator is Arianespace. France's space agency, CNES, operates Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana – the home of Ariane launchers since the first liftoff in 1979.
www.esa.int/ariane
Access the related broadcast quality clips.
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By European Space Agency
Validation testing continues for ESA’s all-new Ariane 6 launch vehicle, with firing of its two upper stage engines to simulate the way they will have to operate together during a flight.
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By European Space Agency
After almost five years, ESA’s Aeolus wind satellite has completed its mission. Now, you can listen to the Life of Aeolus – an incredible wind orchestral piece that has been composed using data spanning Aeolus’ entire life in orbit around Earth.
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