30 years ago, the comet, Shoemaker-Levy 9, pounded into the southern hemisphere of Jupiter, leaving dark scars in the planet’s atmosphere that persisted for several weeks.
The remarkable event was the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision in the Solar System.
Huge plumes up to 3 thousand kilometres high were created by the impact and raised the atmospheric temperatures to 40,000 degrees Celsius.
Almost 10 years after the collision, our Herschel telescope found conclusive evidence that Shoemaker-Levy 9 was the origin of water found in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. Our Juice mission launched last year will map the distribution of Jupiter’s atmospheric ingredients in even greater detail.
This kind of collision was more frequent in the early solar system but today, something as large as Shomaker-Levy impacts Earth only once in a million years.
However, it is important we can protect ourselves from such space hazards which is why we are carrying out several projects dedicated to improving our ability to detect, track and mitigate potentially hazardous asteroids and comets, such as our Hera mission currently planned to launch later this year and our new mission, Ramses, which will to rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis.
📹 ESA – European Space Agency 📸 HA. Weaver, T. ESmith (Space Telescope Science Institute), and NASA/ESA 📸 ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen) 📸 H. Hammel, MIT and NASA/ESA 📸 Calar Alto Observatory/Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
Twenty years ago, astronomers discovered Apophis, an asteroid once feared to collide with Earth in 2029. Thanks to incredible advancements in science, the threat is now ruled out.
However, Apophis will still pass closer than some satellites currently orbiting Earth and will be visible with the naked eye.
This rare event is a great opportunity to study Apophis up close and prepare for future asteroid encounters.
Two university CubeSats, 3Cat4 and ISTSat-1, are catching a ride to space on the inaugural flight of Ariane 6. Ahead of launch, the student teams traveled to Exolaunch facilities in Berlin to integrate their satellites, a crucial milestone ahead of launch.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
The source of the solar wind is no longer a mystery thanks to our trailblazing Solar Orbiter mission. This success opens a new way for solar physicists to study the source regions of the solar wind.
🎥 ESA – European Space Agency 📸 ESA & NASA /Solar Orbiter/EUI & SPICE
Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 powered into space on 9 July 2024 from a newly built dedicated launch pad in French Guiana. Liftoff occurred at 16:00 local time (20:00 BST, 21:00 CEST).
Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 powered Europe into space taking with it a varied selection of experiments, satellites, payload deployers and reentry demonstrations that represent thousands across Europe, from students to industry and experienced space actors.
This inaugural flight, designated VA262, is a demonstration flight to show the capabilities and prowess of Ariane 6 in escaping Earth’s gravity and operating in space. Nevertheless, it had several passengers on board.
Ariane 6 was built by prime contractor and design authority ArianeGroup. In addition to the rocket, the liftoff demonstrated the functioning of the launch pad and operations on ground at Europe’s Spaceport. The new custom-built dedicated launch zone was built by France’s space agency CNES and allows for a faster turnover of Ariane launches.
Ariane 6 is Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket, designed to provide great power and flexibility at a lower cost than its predecessors. The launcher’s configuration – with an upgraded main stage, a choice of either two or four powerful boosters and a new restartable upper stage – will provide Europe with greater efficiency and possibility as it can launch multiple missions into different orbits on a single flight, while its upper stage will deorbit itself at the end of mission.
ESA’s main roles in the Ariane 6 programme is as contracting authority – managing the budget from Member States participating in the Ariane 6 development programme; and as launch system architect – ensuring that the rocket and launch pad infrastructure work together.
Ariane 6 is the latest in Europe’s Ariane rocket series, taking over from Ariane 5 featuring a modular and versatile design that can launch missions from low-Earth orbit and farther out to deep space.
Credits: ESA – European Space Agency
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Liftoff is now scheduled no earlier than 16:00 local time (21:00 CEST), with the live stream starting at 15:30 local time (20:30 CEST).
This is a big moment for Europe, as the rocket will ensure our guaranteed, autonomous access to space – and all of the science, Earth observation, technology development and commercial possibilities that it entails. With many features brand new to Ariane 6, we’ll be able to carry more and take it further, while sustainably disposing of the launcher’s upper stage to prevent it becoming space debris.
Phase 1: From ground to orbit
The first phase of Ariane 6’s flight will launch the rocket off Earth and into space with the thrust from the main stage powered by the Vulcain engine together with the force from the two powerful P120C boosters. Phase 1 includes the separation of the main stage from the upper stage and the first boost of the upper stage’s Vinci engine, which inserts it and its passengers into an elliptical orbit 300 by 700 km above Earth. The first flight of Ariane 6 will have three phases, each of which will demonstrate various abilities for Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket.
Phase 2: Upper stage reignition and satellite deployment
The next phase is when Ariane 6’s newest feature is put to the test: reignition of the upper stage. In phase 2, the Vinci engine will re-fire, changing Ariane 6’s orbit from elliptical to circular. This will be followed by the deployment of the rocket’s eight satellites and the activation of its five onboard experiments.
Phase 3 : Tech demos, deorbiting and capsule separation
The final phase in Ariane 6’s inaugural flight will be to push the cryogenic upper stage to its limits and validate its ability to perform under microgravity conditions. The final phase will initiate the controlled deorbit of the upper stage back through Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific ‘NEMO point’, to prevent it from becoming space debris. Moments later, the two reentry capsules onboard will separate from the upper stage, and all three will make their safe descent back home.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Liftoff is now scheduled no earlier than 16:00 local time (21:00 CEST), with the live stream starting at 15:30 local time (20:30 CEST).
This is a big moment for Europe, as the rocket will ensure our guaranteed, autonomous access to space – and all of the science, Earth observation, technology development and commercial possibilities that it entails. With many features brand new to Ariane 6, we’ll be able to carry more and take it further, while sustainably disposing of the launcher’s upper stage to prevent it becoming space debris.
Phase 1: From ground to orbit
The first phase of Ariane 6’s flight will launch the rocket off Earth and into space with the thrust from the main stage powered by the Vulcain engine together with the force from the two powerful P120C boosters. Phase 1 includes the separation of the main stage from the upper stage and the first boost of the upper stage’s Vinci engine, which inserts it and its passengers into an elliptical orbit 300 by 700 km above Earth. The first flight of Ariane 6 will have three phases, each of which will demonstrate various abilities for Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket.
Phase 2: Upper stage reignition and satellite deployment
The next phase is when Ariane 6’s newest feature is put to the test: reignition of the upper stage. In phase 2, the Vinci engine will re-fire, changing Ariane 6’s orbit from elliptical to circular. This will be followed by the deployment of the rocket’s eight satellites and the activation of its five onboard experiments.
Phase 3 : Tech demos, deorbiting and capsule separation
The final phase in Ariane 6’s inaugural flight will be to push the cryogenic upper stage to its limits and validate its ability to perform under microgravity conditions. The final phase will initiate the controlled deorbit of the upper stage back through Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific ‘NEMO point’, to prevent it from becoming space debris. Moments later, the two reentry capsules onboard will separate from the upper stage, and all three will make their safe descent back home.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Liftoff is now scheduled no earlier than 16:00 local time (21:00 CEST), with the live stream starting at 15:30 local time (20:30 CEST).
This is a big moment for Europe, as the rocket will ensure our guaranteed, autonomous access to space – and all of the science, Earth observation, technology development and commercial possibilities that it entails. With many features brand new to Ariane 6, we’ll be able to carry more and take it further, while sustainably disposing of the launcher’s upper stage to prevent it becoming space debris.
Phase 1: From ground to orbit
The first phase of Ariane 6’s flight will launch the rocket off Earth and into space with the thrust from the main stage powered by the Vulcain engine together with the force from the two powerful P120C boosters. Phase 1 includes the separation of the main stage from the upper stage and the first boost of the upper stage’s Vinci engine, which inserts it and its passengers into an elliptical orbit 300 by 700 km above Earth. The first flight of Ariane 6 will have three phases, each of which will demonstrate various abilities for Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket.
Phase 2: Upper stage reignition and satellite deployment
The next phase is when Ariane 6’s newest feature is put to the test: reignition of the upper stage. In phase 2, the Vinci engine will re-fire, changing Ariane 6’s orbit from elliptical to circular. This will be followed by the deployment of the rocket’s eight satellites and the activation of its five onboard experiments.
Phase 3 : Tech demos, deorbiting and capsule separation
The final phase in Ariane 6’s inaugural flight will be to push the cryogenic upper stage to its limits and validate its ability to perform under microgravity conditions. The final phase will initiate the controlled deorbit of the upper stage back through Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific ‘NEMO point’, to prevent it from becoming space debris. Moments later, the two reentry capsules onboard will separate from the upper stage, and all three will make their safe descent back home.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 powered Europe into space taking with it a varied selection of experiments, satellites, payload deployers and reentry demonstrations that represent thousands across Europe, from students to industry and experienced space actors.
This inaugural flight, designated VA262, is a demonstration flight to show the capabilities and prowess of Ariane 6 in escaping Earth’s gravity and operating in space. Nevertheless, it had several passengers on board.
Ariane 6 was built by prime contractor and design authority ArianeGroup. In addition to the rocket, the liftoff demonstrated the functioning of the launch pad and operations on ground at Europe’s Spaceport. The new custom-built dedicated launch zone was built by France’s space agency CNES and allows for a faster turnover of Ariane launches.
Ariane 6 is Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket, designed to provide great power and flexibility at a lower cost than its predecessors. The launcher’s configuration – with an upgraded main stage, a choice of either two or four powerful boosters and a new restartable upper stage – will provide Europe with greater efficiency and possibility as it can launch multiple missions into different orbits on a single flight, while its upper stage will deorbit itself at the end of mission.
ESA’s main roles in the Ariane 6 programme is as contracting authority – managing the budget from Member States participating in the Ariane 6 development programme; and as launch system architect – ensuring that the rocket and launch pad infrastructure work together.
Ariane 6 is the latest in Europe’s Ariane rocket series, taking over from Ariane 5 featuring a modular and versatile design that can launch missions from low-Earth orbit and farther out to deep space.
★ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/ESAsubscribe and click twice on the bell button to receive our notifications.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 powered Europe into space taking with it a varied selection of experiments, satellites, payload deployers and reentry demonstrations that represent thousands across Europe, from students to industry and experienced space actors.
This inaugural flight, designated VA262, is a demonstration flight to show the capabilities and prowess of Ariane 6 in escaping Earth’s gravity and operating in space. Nevertheless, it had several passengers on board.
Ariane 6 was built by prime contractor and design authority ArianeGroup. In addition to the rocket, the liftoff demonstrated the functioning of the launch pad and operations on ground at Europe’s Spaceport. The new custom-built dedicated launch zone was built by France’s space agency CNES and allows for a faster turnover of Ariane launches.
Ariane 6 is Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket, designed to provide great power and flexibility at a lower cost than its predecessors. The launcher’s configuration – with an upgraded main stage, a choice of either two or four powerful boosters and a new restartable upper stage – will provide Europe with greater efficiency and possibility as it can launch multiple missions into different orbits on a single flight, while its upper stage will deorbit itself at the end of mission.
ESA’s main roles in the Ariane 6 programme is as contracting authority – managing the budget from Member States participating in the Ariane 6 development programme; and as launch system architect – ensuring that the rocket and launch pad infrastructure work together.
Ariane 6 is the latest in Europe’s Ariane rocket series, taking over from Ariane 5 featuring a modular and versatile design that can launch missions from low-Earth orbit and farther out to deep space.
★ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/ESAsubscribe and click twice on the bell button to receive our notifications.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Our ExoMars and Mars Express missions have spotted water frost for the first time on top of the Tharsis volcanoes: the tallest volcanoes not only on Mars but in the Solar System.
It was detected near Mars’s equator, a part of the planet where it was thought impossible for frost to exist.
The researchers propose that air circulates in a peculiar way above Tharsis; this creates a unique microclimate within the calderas of the volcanoes there that allows patches of frost to form.
🎥 ESA – European Space Agency 📸 ESA/TGO/CaSSIS 📸 ESA/DLR/FU Berlin 📸 NASA/MGS/MOLA Science Team, FU Berlin
In the second episode of this docu series, we take a closer look into what it took to build ESA’s Young Professional Satellite (YPSat). YPSat’s mission objectives are to capture the key moments of Ariane 6’s inaugural flight and take in-orbit pictures of Earth and space. To achieve this, the satellite requires the multiple sub-systems to work in harmony and adhere to a pre-defined mission sequence.
This episode zooms in four of the sub-systems: the Wake-Up System (WUS), Battery, On-Board Computer (OBC) and Telecommunications.
Running at ultra low power, the WUS circuit board was designed, tested and manufactured specifically for YPSat. Created to meet Arianespace’s requirement to be operational on the launchpad for 45 days, its function is to wake up the satellite during the launch to record the fairing separation.
Once the WUS detects the launch, it will signal to the battery to turn on the rest of the satellite. The battery has the challenge to maintain enough charge to power the remainder of the components.
The On-Board Computer (OBC) then takes the lead to orchestrate the rest of the mission. The OBC acts as the brain of the satellites; it sends commands to all the other sub-systems, including sending the commands to record the videos and pictures.
Once these are captured, the Telecommunications team takes over to coordinate with the ground stations to send the data back on Earth so it can be decoded into clear images. The challenge is to ensure enough communication between the satellite and Earth so the data is properly retrieved before the YPSat disintegrates upon re-entry.
One day prior launch, YPSat is now sitting in Ariane 6’s capsule. To get there, the satellite was subject to rigorous tests and certifications to meet the stringent standards of the European Space Agency and Arianespace. Will YPSat accomplish its mission objectives? We’ll find out in the next episode.
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Credits: Directed and produced by Chilled Winston: https://chilledwinston.com/ and Emma de Cocker Powered by ESA – European Space Agency Music from Epidemic Sound
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Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 01:12 – The Wake-Up System 04:20 – The Battery 07:01 – The On-Board Computer 08:38 – Telecommunications 13:12 – Outro
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.
The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It’s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8
Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov
Ariane 6 is the newest rocket in a series that has, for five decades, been launching Europe towards the stars. Building on all the knowledge, expertise and technology developed over the years, Ariane 6 will be versatile, modular, and European.
Guaranteeing Europe’s access to space for the next years, Ariane 6 in two versions, with either two or four boosters attached depending on the ‘oomph’ the mission requires. Versatile, its upper stage can reignite multiple times during a single flight, placing any spacecraft into any orbit – including constellations – saving a final boost to return and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. Modular, it will be continuously adapted to the needs of the future space sector.
Four organisations take care of the Ariane 6 programme: ESA at the head, ArianeGroup as the main contractor, CNES who designed and built the launchpad and ArianeSpace who sell the launches.
13 countries contribute, thousands of Europeans have worked on it, and every one of us will benefit from the Earth observation, science, technologies and services it will make possible.
Credits: ESA – European Space Agency
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams share a Fourth of July message and extend their best wishes to those back on Earth in a video recorded on June 28, 2024.
The crew members are currently living and working aboard the International Space Station. Their missions aim to advance scientific knowledge and test new technologies for future human and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars, including NASA’s Artemis lunar missions.
After being launched not even a month ago, EarthCARE has returned its first results.
This was the first time we were able to see the internal structure and dynamics of clouds from space.
These are the first results from EarthCARE’s Cloud Profiling Radar instrument, provided by JAXA, which will be followed by the first results from EarthCARE’s three other instruments in the next weeks and months.
Have you ever wondered what an impact crater looks like from space? Today, we’re counting down some of our favourite impact craters here on Earth – captured by Earth-observing satellites.
Craters are inevitably part of being a rocky planet. They occur on every planetary body in our solar system – no matter the size. By studying impact craters and the meteorites that cause them, we can learn more about the processes and geology that shape our entire solar system.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 will take off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, near the equator, and far from populated areas.
Why did Europe choose a spaceport on the other side of the world? The main reason is the lack of space. There are hardly any places in Europe where rockets can be launched and fly over unpopulated areas during its initial launch phase. We also need a large area to build the launch pad and operations.
Europe’s Spaceport is also very close to the equator. As our Earth spins itself, you can get an extra boost if you launch where Earth is widest… at the equator.
📹 ESA – European Space Agency 📸 ESA – European Space Agency
From soaring temperatures affecting agriculture and the ocean, to the escalating frequency and intensity of heat waves, the challenges posed by rising temperatures across our planet’s interconnected systems have far-reaching impacts.
Join NASA Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor Kate Calvin for this special edition of NASA Science Live, where she will be joined by experts to dive into the connection between Earth’s climate system and people.
Have questions? Share them in chat when we go live at 3:15 p.m. EDT (1915 UTC) on Friday, June 28 — or share them with #AskNASA on your social platform of choice!
On 20 June 2024 the first Ariane 6 rocket to launch into space went through its last full ‘wet dress rehearsal’ at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana – it provided an exciting sneak peek of what’s to come, stopping just a few seconds before engine ignition and of course, liftoff.
One of the first steps was to roll back the colossal 90-m tall Ariane 6 mobile gantry building 120 m away from the launch pad – the first moment the complete rocket stood free.
The first parts of Ariane 6 began arriving in French Guiana from continental Europe in February 2024 via the Canopée ‘spaceship’. In March, the main stage and upper stage were assembled, followed by the transfer of the two powerful P120C boosters in April.
In May, Ariane 6’s first passengers also arrived in Kourou – a varied selection of experiments, satellites, payload deployers and reentry demonstrations that represent thousands across Europe, from students to industry and experienced space actors NASA and ArianeGroup.
The payloads were integrated onto the ‘ballast’ at the end of May, and just a few days ago the ballast was fitted onto the top of the rocket and the fairing closed around it – the last time Ariane 6’s cargo would see light. From Earth observation to technology demonstrations testing wildlife tracking, 3D printing in open space, open-source software and hardware and science missions looking for the most energetic explosions in the universe, the passengers on Ariane 6’s first flight are a testament to the rocket’s adaptability, complexity, and its role for the future – launching any mission, anywhere.
Credits: ESA – European Space Agency Footage: ESA/ArianeGroup/Arianespace/CNES
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch on 9 July 2024, with a launch window from 15:00-19:00 local time at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana (19:00–23:00 BST, 9 July 20:00–10 July 00:00 CEST).
This is a big moment for Europe, as the rocket will ensure our guaranteed, autonomous access to space – and all of the science, Earth observation, technology development and commercial possibilities that it entails. With many features brand new to Ariane 6, we’ll be able to carry more and take it further, while sustainably disposing of the launcher’s upper stage to prevent it becoming space debris.
The launch will be covered in several languages which can be followed at the links below:
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
– Number of rocket launches since the start of the space age in 1957: About 6500 (excluding failures).
– Number of satellites these rocket launches have placed into Earth orbit: About 16 990
– Number of these still in space: About 11 500
– Number of these still functioning: About 9000
– Number of debris objects regularly tracked by Space Surveillance Networks and maintained in their catalogue: About 35 150
– Estimated number of break-ups, explosions, collisions, or anomalous events resulting in fragmentation: More than 640
– Total mass of all space objects in Earth orbit: More than 11500 tonnes
– Not all objects are tracked and catalogued. The number of debris objects estimated based on statistical models to be in orbit [MASTER-8, future population 2021]: ・36500 space debris objects greater than 10 cm ・1 000 000 space debris objects from greater than 1 cm to 10 cm ・130 million space debris objects from greater than 1 mm to 1 cm
In this first episode of our docu-series, we embark on the exciting journey of the YPSat (Young Professional Satellite), a satellite flying on-board the inaugural flight of Ariane 6, Europe’s new heavy launcher. Two years ago, a team of Young Professionals at ESA, with diverse backgrounds, nationalities and expertise, have come together around one passion and with one ambition; design, manufacture and send their own satellite to space.
Starting with some trivial ideas, the team matured their mission objectives and won the approval and support of ESA management to kick start the project. YPSat will be ‘the witness’ of Ariane 6: it will record the fairing separation, document the CubeSats deployment and send back beautiful in-orbit images of Earth and space.
This scaled-down mission has all the ingredients of a large flagship mission; engineering, verification, testing and production assurance; project management, tight schedule, team coordination and communication; failures, crisis situations and successes. YPSat is a blueprint for the future of European space exploration. It has been a life changing opportunity for young professionals at ESA to get hands-on experience and experience the process of developing a space mission. But it has also been an eye-opening occasion for the European Space Agency to get inspired by the young generations, bringing in new ideas and technologies.
This is just the beginning of the adventure for the YPSat team. The next episode will unravel the creativity, ingenuity and determination that the young professionals brought in to achieve the mission’s objectives. What powers the satellite? Who activates the cameras? How is the data transmitted back on Earth?
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Credits: Directed and produced by Chilled Winston: https://chilledwinston.com/ and Emma de Cocker Powered by ESA – European Space Agency Music from Epidemic Sound Footage from Chilled Winston (Chilled Winston – Where Stories Come to Life)
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We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Watch the launch of the GOES-U weather-observing and environmental monitoring satellite on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-U mission, the final addition to the GOES-R series, will help to prepare for two kinds of weather — Earth and space weather. The two-hour launch window opens at 5:16 p.m. EDT (2116 UTC) Tuesday, June 25, for liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The GOES satellites serve a critical role in providing continuous coverage of the Western Hemisphere, including monitoring tropical systems in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This continuous monitoring aids scientists and forecasters in issuing timely warnings and forecasts to help protect the one billion people who live and work in the Americas. Additionally, GOES-U carries a new compact coronagraph that will image the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere to detect and characterize coronal mass ejections.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, manages the launch service for the GOES-U mission. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft and instruments.
The summer solstice, which is when the Sun reaches the most northerly point in the sky, occurred on Friday 21st June at 22:50 CEST.
This is when the Northern Hemisphere will experience the longest day of the year and the Southern Hemisphere will experience the shortest.
This is because of Earth’s position in orbit around the Sun and the way the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun during the solstice.
This animation shows one image per day captured by the Meteosat Second Generation from 20 June 2023 until 19 June 2024 captured at approximately 17:30 CEST. You can see how the terminator line moved in the past year – tonight, that line will be at its greatest angle with respect to the axis of the Earth.
Do you live in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere?
While the Ariane 6 rocket might take much of the focus, the launch pad and infrastructure truely are marvels of human engineering.
Built and operated by France’s space agency @CNES, the launch zone – called ELA4 – was built from the ground up at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Building on the success and lessons learnt from the previous launch zones, the new infrastructure allows for quick processing and the launch of one Ariane 6 a month.
The site for the launch zone was chosen for its deep rocky subsoil capable of supporting the heaviest 900 tonne variant of Ariane 6 and its liftoff and the mobile gantry that surrounds Ariane 6 for final assembly.
The launch pad was also built to lessen the site’s carbon footprint and preserve local natural resources.
📹 ESA – European Space Agency 📸 ESA – European Space Agency
NASA’s exploration of the ocean from the vantage point of space is unveiling the mysteries of our interconnected home planet.
Join Anthony Mackie, actor and National Geographic host, as he chats with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s Ivona Cetinić about how scientists study the ocean and the creatures that live there – including sharks!
Producers: Scott Bednar, Jessica Wilde, Emily Furfaro, Ryan Fitzgibbons, Sofie Bates Editor/Graphics: Matthew Schara
The first ESA instrument to land on the Moon has detected the presence of negative ions on the lunar surface produced through interactions with the solar wind.
The European team working with the Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS) instrument confirmed the success of this scientific mission that flew to the far side of the Moon aboard the Chang’e-6 spacecraft.
The discovery of a new component of plasma at the surface of the Moon opens a new window for space physics and for human and robotic missions in an era of renewed lunar exploration.
Europe’s newest rocket Ariane 6 has an upper stage engine, Vinci, that can restart up to four more times once in space!
This allows Ariane 6 to reach a larger range of orbits and deliver multiple payloads on a single launch.
Vinci does this using an auxiliary propulsion unit that heats up the same liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel used by the main engine. It then turns it into gas that is expelled from the upper stage to provide a small amount of thrust. The effect is barely noticeable, but the forces are just enough to keep the liquid fuel at the bottom of the tank and ready for reignition.
📹 ESA – European Space Agency 📸 ESA – European Space Agency
In November 2023 our Integral telescope spotted a sudden explosion from a rare object. For only a tenth of a second, a short burst of energetic gamma-rays appeared from the direction of the bright galaxy M82.
Only a few hours later, our XMM-Newton telescope searched for an afterglow from the explosion but found none. Astronomers realised that the burst must have been an extra-galactic flare from a magnetar, a young neutron star with an exceptionally strong magnetic field.
🎥 ESA – European Space Agency
📸 ESA/Integral, ESA/XMM-Newton, INAF/TNG, M. Rigoselli (INAF)
📸NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Leaders from NASA and our federal partners introduce the Disaster Response Coordination System, which provides science and data to communities and organizations around the world to aid in responding to disasters.
Tune in to learn how this will connect NASA’s Earth science data, technology, and expertise with disaster response organizations in the U.S. and internationally. The goal of the new system is to reduce how disasters impact lives and livelihoods through timely, actionable, and accurate information.
The participants include: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy Nicky Fox, associate administrator, NASA Science Mission Directorate Karen St. Germain, division director, NASA Earth Sciences Division Jainey Bavishi, deputy administrator, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Erik Hooks, deputy administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency David Applegate, director, U.S. Geological Survey Dianna Darsney de Salcedo, assistant to the U.S. Agency for International Development administrator Clayton Turner, director, NASA Langley Research Center Shanna McClain, program manager, NASA Disasters Program Joshua Barnes, manager, NASA Disaster Response Coordination System Judith Mitrani-Reiser, senior scientist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Proba-3 is ESA’s – and the world’s – first precision formation flying mission. A pair of satellites will fly together relative to the Sun so that one casts a precisely-controlled shadow onto the other, to create a prolonged solar eclipse in orbit. In the process the mission will open up the Sun’s faint surrounding coronal atmosphere for sustained study. Normally this corona is rendered invisible by the brilliant face of the Sun, like a firefly next to a bonfire.
Due for launch together this autumn, the two Proba-3 satellites will fly 144-m apart for up to six hours at a time to create these eclipses. Beside its scientific interest, this experiment will be a perfect method to demonstrate the precise positioning of the two platforms. It will be enabled using a novel combination of guidance technologies. In this video the Proba-3 team details the mission concept.
We are Europe’s gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 has three main stages each with their own engines.
Ariane 6 uses one of the world’s most powerful single-piece boosters, the P120C boosters, to get off the ground.
These motors run on 142 000 kg of solid fuel, which is completely consumed in just two minutes, reaching 53 km altitude when they are eventually discarded.
We can choose to either have two or four boosters per Ariane 6 launch. For many missions two boosters is more than enough to get into space, but if you need to launch heavier satellites or want to reach destinations farther away from Earth four boosters provide the extra kick to do the trick.
We now have a target launch date! We are currently aiming to get Ariane 6 off the ground on 9th July, be sure to set your reminders and follow along for more updates.
The astronauts of Boeing’s #Starliner Crew Flight Test, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will participate from the International Space Station in a Q&A moderated by Chirag Parikh, deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and executive secretary for the White House’s National Space Council.
Wilmore and Williams launched at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 UTC) June 5, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. They docked to the orbiting laboratory at 1:34 p.m. EDT (1734 UTC) on June 6, and are currently in the middle of a week-long stay, testing Starliner and its subsystems as the next step in the spacecraft’s certification for rotational missions as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Following their safe arrival at the International Space Station on Thursday, June 6, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will speak with agency leaders about their historic mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a space-to-ground call.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Associate Administrator Jim Free, and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche will participate in the call. Wilmore and Williams will speak with representatives from the White House in a second call scheduled to begin at 2:40 p.m. EDT (1840 UTC) on June 10.
Live from the International Space Station: Watch a tour of the Boeing Starliner with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the first crew to fly on the spacecraft.
Wilmore and Williams arrived at the station aboard Starliner on Thursday, June 6, one day after the spacecraft was launched on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the Boeing Crew Flight Test will help validate the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operations capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard as the agency prepares to certify Starliner for rotational missions to the space station.
We mourn the passing of Apollo Astronaut William “Bill” Anders at the age of 90.
He was backup pilot for the Gemini XI, Apollo 11 flights, and was lunar module pilot for Apollo 8 — the first lunar orbit mission. On Christmas Eve in 1968, Anders turned his camera toward Earth and captured the legendary Earthrise photo.
Launching a pair of Earth-observing small satellites, an intriguing planet discovered outside of our solar system, and its “full cruise ahead” for our mission to a metal-rich asteroid … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!
Link to download this video: https://images.nasa.gov/details/Launching%20a%20Pair%20of%20Earth-Observing%20Small%20Satellites%20on%20This%20Week%20@NASA%20%E2%80%93%20May%2031,%202024
Video Producer: Andre Valentine Video Editor: Andre Valentine Narrator: Emanuel Cooper Music: Universal Production Music Credit: NASA
Watch live as a crewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft docks to the International Space Station for the first time. Starliner will autonomously dock to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 UTC).
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are aboard Starliner, which was launched on Wednesday, June 5 at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 UTC) on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Starliner and crew will remain at the space station for about a week.
As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the flight test will help validate the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operations capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard as the agency prepares to certify Starliner for rotational missions to the space station.
