Saharan dust plume
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 12:40
Write a comment
Image:
Images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission show a large dust storm originating from the Sahara Desert that has engulfed skies across the central Mediterranean Basin. ESA's solar eclipse maker, Proba-3
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 11:40 Write a comment
Hundreds of millions of people will witness next week’s total solar eclipse across North America, and solar physicists from around the globe are flocking to join them. Eclipses offer a brief glimpse of the Sun’s ghostly surrounding atmosphere – the solar corona – normally kept invisible by the Sun’s sheer glare. But the corona will soon be opened up for more sustained study: today in Belgium ESA has unveiled the pair of spacecraft making up its new Proba-3 mission, planned to produce orbital solar eclipse events on demand.
Orbital Sidekick shares first-light imagery
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 11:00
Group photo in front of the Ariane 6 core with French President
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 10:57 Write a comment
Image:
Teams from ESA, CNES, ArianeGroup and Arianespace working diligently to get the new European rocket Ariane 6 ready for launch pose for a photo with French President Emmanuel Macron who visited Europe's Spaceport on 26 March 2024. The President addressed the teams working on Ariane 6 in the launcher assembly building, with the rocket's upper stage and core stage that will soar into space soon in the background. Also present was Toni Tolker-Nielsen, ESA’s Director of Space Transportation, Philippe Baptiste CEO of France’s space agency CNES, Martin Sion CEO of ArianeGroup, Stéphane Israël CEO of Arianespace and François Ringuet,
China launches first of a new series of Yaogan reconnaissance satellites
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 10:40
NASA wants to come up with a new clock for the moon, where seconds tick away faster
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 07:18 Write a comment
White House directs NASA to develop lunar time standard
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 00:52
Latest satellite production delay sends AST SpaceMobile stock plummeting
Tuesday, 02 April 2024 21:16
Pentagon unveils strategy to harness commercial space tech for national security
Tuesday, 02 April 2024 19:23
Solar Orbiter prepared for 'worst-case scenario'
Tuesday, 02 April 2024 18:29 Write a comment
The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter is approaching the closest point to the sun in its current orbit. It is an important time for the mission's science activities, and the mission control team at ESA is constantly preparing for any possible problems the spacecraft might face as it swoops past our active and unpredictable star.
Mission control to Solar Orbiter. Come in Solar Orbiter...
"It's our worst-case scenario," says flight controller Daniel Lakey. "If Solar Orbiter were to experience some major issue on board, and then we were unable to reestablish communications."
Solar Orbiter's close approach to the sun ("perihelion") is a period of peak scientific activity.
It requires flight control teams and flight dynamics experts at ESA's ESOC mission control center to carry out a series of highly complex operations.
If something goes wrong during these activities, the spacecraft could auto-reset itself into "safe mode."
In safe mode, the spacecraft's software restarts and only its most basic functions are reactivated. Teams on Earth then work out what triggered the safe mode, solve the issue, and restart more advanced systems like scientific instruments.
Not in the path of totality? You can still watch Monday's total solar eclipse online
Tuesday, 02 April 2024 17:20 Write a comment
Russia, China catching up to U.S. in space weaponry, new report finds
Tuesday, 02 April 2024 13:30
Finishing touches for South Australia's first permanent spaceport ahead of Inaugural Launch
Tuesday, 02 April 2024 12:27 Write a comment
New launch facilities at the Koonibba Test Range, South Australia's first permanent spaceport, are almost complete ahead of the impending inaugural launch.
Located northwest of Ceduna, the range is a partnership between Southern Launch and the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation. It is the largest commercial testing range in the Southern Hemisphere.
Space Industries Minister Su SpaceX launches 23 satellites, completing 260th reflight of an orbital class rocket
Tuesday, 02 April 2024 12:27 Write a comment
Elon Musk's SpaceX launched 23 satellites into low-Earth orbit on Saturday, completing the company's 260th re-flight of an orbital class rocket seven years after first achieving the act.
This means the company has successfully launched and landed a first-stage booster of a rocket like its Falcon 9 at least 260 times. The first stage of a rocket is the largest and most expensive part of Totality ready: US braces for April 8 solar eclipse frenzy
Tuesday, 02 April 2024 12:27 Write a comment
US communities along the path of the April 8 total solar eclipse are preparing for the year's biggest astronomic event, with millions of visitors expected to brighten local economies - and snarl up logistics.
Near the US-Canada border in Burlington, Vermont, which is set to experience the totality just before 3:30 pm (1930 GMT), many hotels have been sold out for months.
The few remaini