Europe satellite operator drops Ariane 6 rocket for SpaceX: report
Friday, 28 June 2024 10:47
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Europe's weather satellite operator has cancelled plans to use the European rocket Ariane 6 less than two weeks before its first-ever launch, opting to go with US firm SpaceX instead, the French newspaper Le Monde has reported.
The latest blow to European space efforts comes after four years of delays to the Ariane 6, which is scheduled to finally blast off for the first time on July 9.
Contacted by AFP on Friday, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) could not immediately be reached, while the French company Arianespace, which developed and operates the Ariane 6 rocket, did not comment.
According to the Le Monde report, EUMETSAT's executive committee asked the board of directors representing the organization's 30 member states to launch the MTG-S1 weather satellite on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
That would mean cancelling the contract EUMETSAT signed with Arianespace four years ago.
The MTG-S1 satellite had been planned to be the third launch on an Ariane 6 rocket, scheduled to blast off sometime early next year.
The Le Monde report did not specify exactly why EUMETSAT ditched the European rocket for US billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX.
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Ariane 6: on the launch pad and ready for liftoff
Friday, 28 June 2024 10:15 Write a comment
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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’.
10 impact craters seen from space
Friday, 28 June 2024 09:00 Write a comment
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00:07:14
Have you ever wondered what an impact crater looks like from space? Today, we’re counting down some of our favourite impact craters here on Earth – captured by Earth-observing satellites.
Craters are inevitably part of being a rocky planet. They occur on every planetary body in our solar system – no matter the size. By studying impact craters and the meteorites that cause them, we can learn more about the processes and geology that shape our entire solar system.
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Earth from Space: Meteor Crater
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Ahead of Asteroid Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Meteor Crater, also known as the Barringer Meteorite Crater. Take off with ESA Impact! Ariane 6 and astronaut news await
Friday, 28 June 2024 06:30 Write a comment
Take off with ESA Impact! Ariane 6 and astronaut news await
Welcome to the 2024 second quarter edition of ESA Impact.
NASA's Juno Observes Lava Lakes on Jupiter's Moon Io
Friday, 28 June 2024 05:29 Write a comment
New observations from NASA's Juno probe reveal extensive lava lakes on Jupiter's moon Io, providing new insights into its volcanic activity. These findings come from Juno's Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument, provided by the Italian Space Agency, which captures infrared light. Researchers published a paper on Juno's latest volcanic discoveries on June 20 in Nature Communications E Russian spy satellite reportedly continues suspicious maneuvers
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Russian satellite breaks up, creating debris in low Earth orbit
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SpaceX knocks out morning launch with record booster from Cape Canaveral
Thursday, 27 June 2024 19:24 Write a comment
SpaceX got back to a quick pace between launches with another Starlink mission from the Space Coast on Thursday using its fleet-leading booster for a record flight.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of its Starlink satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 at 7:14 a.m.
The first-stage booster for the flight made its record-breaking 22nd trip off the pad, having previously flown crewed missions Inspiration4 and Axiom Space's Ax-1, as well as 19 other missions.
It made another landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.
That marks 325 booster recoveries for the company and 294 reflights. SpaceX has three other boosters with 20 or more flights under their belt.
The launch comes just two days since the first Falcon Heavy launch of the year at nearby Kennedy Space Center and four days since the last launch at Canaveral's SLC-40.
This was the 48th launch from all Space Coast launch pads for the year, with all but three coming from SpaceX.
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