Exomars
ESA investigation finds Schiaparelli spacecraft was “ill-prepared” to make Mars landing
The spacecraft, a landing technology demonstrator, flew to Mars on the ExoMars 2016 mission, but crashed when it prematurely shut down its thrusters.
ESA: Mars lander crash caused by 1-second inertial measurement error
The European Space Agency on Nov. 23 said its Schiaparelli lander’s crash landing on Mars on Oct. 19 followed an unexplained saturation of its inertial measurement unit, which delivered bad data to the lander’s computer and forced a premature release of its parachute.
OHB, still growing, focused on German, European government hardware programs
Satellite and rocket hardware builder OHB of Germany on Nov. 16 said delays in its supply chain had put pressure on its revenue in recent months but that the company’s full-year profitability would be unaffected.
ESA to ask its governments in December for $12 billion
The European Space Agency will ask its 22 member governments in December for a multi-year financial commitment of around 11 billion euros ($12.2 billion) including a billion-euro telecommunications research effort to be conducted in partnership with the private sector and around 1.4 billion euros in new Earth observation missions, ESA Director-General Jan Woerner said Nov. 7.
Roscosmos says Galileo, other European space programs could suffer from payment dispute
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, on Oct. 21 gave written warning to the French government that it would take France to court in six months unless France’s Arianespace launch-service company frees up about 300 million euros ($330 million) in long-overdue payments.
Impact site of European Mars lander seen in orbiter images
Images from a NASA Mars orbiter suggest that the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli spacecraft crashed when attempting to land on the Martian surface Oct. 19.
Europe’s ExoMars enters Mars orbit, but lander feared lost
The European Space Agency on Oct. 19 successfully placed its Trace Gas Orbiter satellite in Mars orbit, where it will examine Mars’s atmosphere before changing orbit to become a data relay station for future U.S. and European Mars rover missions.
ESA enlists NASA chief in campaign for space station support
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on June 15 made an impassioned plea to European governments not to quit the International Space Station partnership, saying the station is the on-ramp for future collaboration in space exploration.
Despite delays, ESA backs Mars mission plans
Thursday's briefing begins with the European Space Agency continuing their support for a Mars rover mission, despite it being later than originally scheduled.
ESA chief says funding for delayed ExoMars rover mission remains uncertain
European Space Agency Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner on May 9 expressed frustration with the equipment delays that forced a two-year slip in the launch of Europe’s ExoMars rover vehicle and said he would not write a blank check to keep the mission alive.
ESA’s de Groot on decision to delay 2018 ExoMars mission to 2020
The European and Russian space agencies on May 2 said their joint ExoMars 2018 mission carrying a rover and an experiment-filled landing platform to Mars would not be ready in time and would be delayed to July 2020.
Proton launches Euro-Russian ExoMars mission, but program’s second launch remains in limbo
A Russian Proton heavy-lift rocket on March 14 successfully placed the Euro-Russian ExoMars 2016 mission into orbit, a launch intended as the first half of a program whose second half, scheduled for 2018, remains in doubt.
Proton carrying European-Russian ExoMars mission lifts off
Monday's briefing begins with the successful liftoff of a Proton rocket carrying the 2016 ExoMars mission.
ExoMars Work at Frenzied Pace To Make 2016 Launch Date
The program remains in deadlined-stressed mode with triple-shift work days in preparation for the first mission's March launch.
Faulty Component that Delayed ExoMars Affects Other ESA Programs
ESA said the same pressure transducers whose suspected leaks forced the agency to delay the launch of ExoMars have been removed or repaired on a half-dozen other missions — all in time to prevent in-orbit problems.
