The failure of Japan’s H3 rocket on its inaugural flight in March could delay several science missions, including two scheduled to launch on another rocket.

The first Eurostar Neo satellite built under ESA’s Neosat Partnership Project has completed its electric orbit raising to reach its geostationary position some 36 000 kilometres above Earth.

Mobile satcom services provider Ovzon said March 28 it has secured a deadline extension enabling it to keep priority spectrum rights for its first broadband satellite, as long as it launches early enough in a July-September window SpaceX has set for the mission.

Sat in a windowless office beneath ESA’s Main Control Room in Darmstadt, Germany, two Simulations Officers have complete control over the Juice spacecraft and ESA’s deep space ground stations across the globe – and they take full advantage.

These aren’t the real 35-metre antennas or the actual spacecraft (currently in Kourou, French Guiana), but a complex simulator. For teams that will fly the mission for real, it all looks, feels and behaves just like the real thing. The ‘problem’ for them is, it keeps going wrong. 

Down in the simulations bunker, the Officers are revelling in their dastardly plan