Copernical Team
Starship megarocket achieves first ocean splashdown: live feed
Starship, SpaceX's massive prototype rocket that may one day send humans to Mars, achieved its first ever ocean splashdown during its fourth flight test, a live feed showed Thursday. "Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting fourth flight test of Starship!" Elon Musk's company posted on X. The most powerful launch system ever built blasted off fr
Opening day at ILA 2024
The 2024 edition of the Berlin International Airshow (ILA), Germany's largest aerospace trade show, opened its doors on 5 June. ESA is taking part with an exhibition in the Space Pavilion alongside the German Space Agency (DLR) and the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI).
Highlights of the opening day included the visit of the German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Space Pavilion opening ceremony, and the kick-off press conference with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
ILA 2024 – Day 2
Air-quality mission ready to join its host weather satellite
Following months of meticulous testing to ensure that it will deliver first-class data on air quality around the world, the new Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument has been delivered to Airbus in France ready to be installed on the first MetOp Second Generation weather satellite.
Gaia: Milky Way’s last major collision was surprisingly recent
Our galaxy has collided with many others in its lifetime. ESA’s Gaia space telescope now reveals that the most recent of these crashes took place billions of years later than we thought.
Dozens of companies, institutions and NGOs sign the Zero Debris Charter
More than 40 companies, research centres and international organisations signed the Zero Debris Charter at the Berlin International Airshow (ILA) today, confirming their dedication to the long-term sustainability of human activities in space.
Humanity's climate impact like dinosaur-ending meteor: UN chief
Humankind's role in the destructive warming of the planet is comparable to the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday, calling for rapid steps including bans on fossil fuel advertising. "Of the vast forces that have shaped life on Earth over billions of years, humanity is just one small blip on the radar," Guterres said in a speech at New Yo
BlackSky Secures One-Year Extension for NRO Imagery Contract
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) received a one-year extension contract from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to continue its Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL) subscription for high-frequency Gen-2 imagery services. "This contract represents continued confidence in BlackSky as a trusted mission partner as the NRO makes strides in leveraging commercial space technology to
Iridium Secures Five-Year $94 Million Contract with Space Systems Command
Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced a new five-year contract awarded by the United States Space Force's Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office (COMSO) for Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) capabilities and security sustainment services (ECS3). This contract supports the Iridium EMSS program, ensuring continued operations of the EMSS Service Center for critical U
Carbon capture must quadruple by 2050 to meet climate targets: report
By 2050, humanity must durably remove four times as much CO2 from the air as today to cap global warming below the crucial target of two degrees Celsius, researchers said Tuesday. But massively expanding CO2-absorbing forests - 99 percent of current carbon removal - could claim land needed to grow food and biofuels, while it remains highly uncertain whether new technologies for sucking CO2