Genesis is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) navigation mission to measure Earth down to the millimetre. This precise measurement of Earth will have wide-ranging benefits, from satellite navigation to orbit determination to Earth science.

Recent reporting on SpaceX’s proposal to deploy up to one million satellites in low Earth orbit — paired with a vision of AI-enabled, autonomous orbital infrastructure — marks a decisive moment for the space community.

This video was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

Day 035, orbit 0541 – Three cargo vehicles departing the Station in just three weeks… and since I recorded this video, we also waved goodbye to a Progress!

The Northrop Grumman Cygnus NG23 was named S.S. William “Willie” McCool in honor of the NASA astronaut and naval aviator test pilot who perished in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia accident. Following a U.S. Navy tradition, Jack – who shares the same professional background – rang the Station bell to mark the spacecraft’s departure.

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The Smile mission is set to launch on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Thursday 9 April at 08:29 CEST/07:29 BST/03:29 local time. Follow along as we communicate on the final preparations for launch. Journalists are invited to join online media briefings in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German.

Blue Origin is the latest company to propose an orbital data center system, filing plans for a constellation of up to 51,600 satellites.