ESA
Commercial EO innovation challenges snail-pace government timescales
Leaps in capabilities of commercial constellations of small Earth-observation satellites and the decreasing cost of their services were at the center of a debate about the future of publicly funded Earth-observation missions after Spire CEO Peter Platzer introduced the company’s ambition to become “the Amazon” of space.
ESA targets 2021 for Space Rider demo flight
The European Space Agency expects to carry out the qualification flight of the Space Rider spaceplane in 2021 followed by multiple demonstration missions before handing over the program to industry, according to Lucia Linares, head of ESA space transportation strategy and policy.
ESA preps Earth observation satellite with onboard AI processor
The European Space Agency plans to launch an Earth observation satellite equipped with an artificially intelligent processor that would enable the spacecraft to make decisions regarding what to image and which data to send to the ground.
Arianespace Soyuz launch schedule unaffected by Russian MS-10 failure
An Arianespace Soyuz mission will launch Nov. 7 without any delays resulting from the failure of a crewed, Russian-operated Soyuz launch earlier this month, Arianespace said Oct. 30.
ESA’s leader gets mandate to negotiate with EU, set agenda for next ministerial council
Member states of the European Space Agency met this week in Madrid to coordinate their strategy for the next triennial ministerial meeting.
Thales Group reports boost in space revenue
Government demand for space systems drove a “recovery of space orders” for Thales Group this year, offsetting a slump in commercial telecom satellites, Chief Financial Officer Pascal Bouchiat said Oct. 18.
Ariane 5 launches BepiColombo to Mercury
A Mercury-bound science mission from the European and Japanese space agencies began a seven-year journey to the Solar System’s smallest planet Oct. 19 aboard and Ariane 5 rocket.
Arianespace assessing impact of crewed Soyuz failure on satellite-launching variant
Arianespace said Oct. 11 it’s too soon to say whether the Soyuz-ST rockets it uses to launch satellites from South America will be grounded following the failure of a Russian Soyuz-FG rocket carrying crew to the International Space Station.
GMV wins 250 million euro ground control contract for Europe’s Galileo navigation system
The company’s contract with the European Space Agency, signed in September, marks the biggest deal for GMV and the biggest for Spain's space industry.
Space agencies welcome new entrants developing satellites for tracking greenhouse gases
As a growing number of organizations propose satellites to monitor greenhouse gases, national space agencies who already operate such spacecraft welcome those new entrants — as long as they’re willing to share their results.
Airbus CEO calls for reforms to European space governance
The chief executive of Airbus used an international space conference to call for reforms in how Europe manages and funds space activities in order to better compete on the global market.
First Orion service module ready for shipment to the U.S.
The first European-built service module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft is finally ready to be shipped to the United States for final preparations before a scheduled mid-2020 launch.
ISS partners show interest in station extension
NASA’s partners in the International Space Station are showing a growing interest in extending the station’s operations beyond 2024 regardless of NASA initiatives to end direct funding of the station around that time.
European Rover Challenge 2018
European Rover Challenge is one of the biggest international space and robotics event in the world. ERC gathers not only specialists in planetary robotics and Mars rovers designers but also representatives of science and business, the new-tech sec…
ESA’s Aeolus. A game-changer for forecasts?
The first wind data captured by the European Space Agency's Aeolus wind sensor show the sensor is working as designed, a huge relief for a program managers who struggled for more than a decade with the complex technology.
Arianespace Vega launches long-awaited Aeolus wind-mapping satellite
A European wind-mapping satellite 15 years in the making lifted off Aug. 22 on a Vega rocket from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
