News Archive
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405 articles
Arianespace to launch satellites for Earth imaging, data relay
Arianespace announced four launch orders this week to deploy spacecraft in orbit for Google, the United Arab Emirates and Europe's new laser data relay satellite network.
SES completes three-satellite procurement with Ariane 5 contract
SES has selected Arianespace to launch a communications satellite ordered as part of a three-spacecraft procurement announced last month, after assigning the other two payloads for launches aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.
Arianespace on pace for one launch per month in 2015
Last week's successful launch of a Vega rocket with a European re-entry technology demonstrator marked the first of at least 11 flights planned this year by Arianespace to put communications satellites, Earth observatories and research probes into space.
Arianespace edges out SpaceX to launch Korean satellites
Two South Korean Earth-watching satellites will ride Ariane 5 rockets into orbit in 2018 and 2019 after Arianespace beat SpaceX in a competition to launch the spacecraft.
Fire in the hole! Vega fires away from jungle spaceport
Check out photos of a solid-fueled Vega launcher as it zipped away from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, with Europe's IXV mission Wednesday.
European space plane flies around the world on test flight
Europe launched a sleek space plane more than 250 miles above Earth on Wednesday, testing its maneuverability, on-board guidance systems, and a next-generation heat shield as the experimental vehicle glided through the atmosphere toward a pinpoint splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
VideoVideo: Europe’s IXV prepared for launch
Watch a time lapse video chronicling several days of activity to ready the European Space Agency's sleek IXV re-entry demonstrator for flight.
Live coverage: European mini-shuttle back on Earth
A European re-entry demonstrator launched aboard a solid-fueled Vega rocket at 1340 GMT (8:40 a.m. EST) from French Guiana, kicking off a whirlwind 102-minute around-the-world test flight to validate technologies that could be used on future reusable launchers and spaceships.
ESA re-entry vehicle could pave way for reusable launcher
European engineers are eager to test an experimental re-entry demonstrator Wednesday to validate technologies for future robotic exploration probes, winged space planes, and reusable rocket boosters.
Galileo satellite deployment campaign to resume
Two Galileo navigation satellites arrived at the Guiana Space Center in South America on Thursday after a trans-Atlantic flight from Paris, as European officials plan the resumption of Galileo launches after a rocket mishap deposited two spacecraft in the wrong orbit last year.