ESA Council at ministerial level - Part 1
Monday, 06 November 2023 14:00
Video:
02:00:00
Government ministers representing ESA’s Member States, Associate States and Cooperating States met for a Council meeting on 6 November 2023 during the Space Summit in Seville, Spain. They resolved together to strengthen Europe’s space ambitions to better serve European citizens. At the same time, ESA will open a new era of modernising the implementation of its programmes, responding to growing commercialisation and privatisation of space activities, in particular in the fields of space transportation and space exploration. The opening of the meeting was followed by an introduction by ESA Director General and statements by Member, Associate and
Europe to decide its future in space at Seville summit
Monday, 06 November 2023 13:49
European ministers are meeting in the Spanish city of Seville on Monday and Tuesday to decide on the continent's future in space, including potential exploration missions and an ongoing rocket launcher crisis.
With delays to its new Ariane rocket, Europe has no independent way to blast its missions into space and faces growing competition as the United States, China and India all aim for the moon.
"In space, a lot is at stake, and my question literally is where does Europe want to go?" European Space Agency (ESA) chief Joseph Aschbacher said ahead of the summit.
Does Europe want to join in on the economic boom in the space sector, or be "a customer of services that others are offering?" he asked.
The first day of the summit is devoted to a meeting of ministers from the 22 ESA member states, which includes most European Union nations as well as the UK, Switzerland and Norway.
Tuesday will be dedicated to a joint EU-ESA meeting.
The member states are expected to reaffirm their commitment to Earth observation missions that collect climate change data as a priority for future funding.
Unveiling the Civil Space Achievement of the Year finalists for the SpaceNews 2023 Icon Awards
Monday, 06 November 2023 13:31
SpaceX launch makes it 60 for the Space Coast, this time with record booster flight
Monday, 06 November 2023 11:27
Another Space Coast night launch Friday marked the 60th liftoff from the Space Coast for the year, this time with a booster flying for a record 18th time.
A Falcon 9 carrying another 23 of Elon Musk's company's Starlink satellites took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 at 8:37 p.m.
The historic booster that had previously flown on the Crew Demo-2 mission that took up the first astronauts on SpaceX's Crew Dragon back in May 2020 and has since flown on the ANASIS-11, CRS-21, Transporter-1, Transporter-3 and now 13 Starlink missions.
It made another successful recovery landing in the Atlantic on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.
The 60 Space Coast launches continues to build on the record surpassed last month when missions from either Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center topped the 57 managed in 2002.
So far this year, Canaveral has sent up 49 rockets and KSC 11. All but four launches have been from SpaceX, which also has flown 23 times from California.
2023 Orlando Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
ESA and EC to unite on climate action from space
Monday, 06 November 2023 10:00
ESA and the European Commission are joining forces to accelerate the use of Earth-observing satellites and the information they provide to address the pressing challenge of climate change.
This landmark initiative signifies a firm commitment to advancing our understanding of Earth's climate system and enhancing our ability to take timely and informed actions to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, particularly encompassing the European Green Deal.
New dossier showcases how space is driving a greener future on Earth
Monday, 06 November 2023 09:50
The role that space can play in a greener future for us all is high on the agenda at today's ESA Space Summit. A new ‘green dossier’ to be released alongside the event in Seville on 6-7 November showcases how ESA’s flagship business-to-business programme is fuelling an unprecedented growth in green and sustainable space-enabled commercial activities to address the challenges of climate change.
Military students innovate technology solutions for US Special Operations Command
Monday, 06 November 2023 07:52
All eyes were on the robot-dog pacing the hangar on Hanscom Air Force Base. The robot was just one technology, among small drones, autonomous mapping vehicles, and virtual-environment simulators, set up for military cadets to interact with. The goal was to open cadets' minds to possibilities. Over the next year, they will be applying such technologies to challenges facing the U.S. Special Operat Monitoring nuclear weapons stockpiles with radio waves
Monday, 06 November 2023 07:52
An international research team has proposed a new method for monitoring nuclear disarmament treaties. The IT security experts developed a mechanism that uses radio waves to remotely monitor whether any changes are being made in a specific room. The researchers describe how robust and secure the approach is in the journal Nature Communications. Teams from the Max Planck Institute for Security and TelePIX and Thrusters Unlimited to sell Geo-Info solutions across Latin America and Caribbean
Monday, 06 November 2023 07:52
In a strategic move that marks a significant foray into the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) market, South Korean space startup TelePIX has penned a Memorandum of Understanding with Mexico-based geo-information specialist, Thrusters Unlimited. This alliance promises to leverage satellite technology to enhance earth observation services across the region.
The agreement, formalized on Octo ESA's Proba-3 Formation Flying Mission Proceeds to Final Checks
Monday, 06 November 2023 03:52
The European Space Agency's (ESA) ambitious Proba-3 mission has recently completed a critical environmental testing campaign, marking a significant milestone on its path toward a 2024 launch. Conducted in Ottobrunn, Germany, these tests have proven that the mission's equipment can endure the harsh conditions of launch and the extreme thermal environment of outer space. The comprehensive campaign Momentus Advances Vigoride-7 Testing, Aiming for 2024 SpaceX Launch
Monday, 06 November 2023 03:52
Momentus Inc., the U.S.-based commercial space firm known for its satellite transportation and in-space services, has achieved a significant milestone with the completion of vibration testing on its Vigoride-7 Orbital Service Vehicle. This critical phase of testing is an essential step toward its anticipated launch aboard the SpaceX Transporter-10 mission, earmarked for no earlier than March 202 Ovzon receives follow-on order for SATCOM-as-a-Service valued at 1.8 MUSD
Monday, 06 November 2023 03:52
Ovzon has received a 1.8 MUSD follow-on order to provide three months of SATCOM-as-a-Service in Europe with an estimated start date in December 2023.
This award is a follow-on order to the 4.8 MUSD contract from April of this year from an existing European customer. The April 2023 contract included both Ovzon SATCOM-as-a-Service and Ovzon On-The-Move (OTM) terminals.
Ovzon's SATCOM-a Planet Labs advances satellite communication with NASA CSP ground tests
Monday, 06 November 2023 03:52
In an innovative stride within the aerospace industry, Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) has recently concluded a pivotal phase in their collaboration under NASA's Communications Services Project (CSP). This marks a significant milestone as they work to refine inter-satellite communication technologies, specifically satellite-to-satellite links.
As a key player in the domain of daily Earth data a