ESA – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

ESA’s Hera spacecraft launches on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as Hurricane Milton takes aim at Florida

October 7, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission is a follow-on from NASA’s planetary defense mission, DART, which succeeded in changing the orbit of an asteroid around its larger neighbor. Liftoff happened at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 UTC).

ESA’s Hera mission progresses towards launch pending Falcon 9 readiness

October 2, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The journey to the binary asteroid system, Didymos and its moon, Dimorphos, will take place over a roughly two-year period. The launch window lasts from October 7-27.

ESA completes swan song of its Vega rocket with Sentinel-2C launch

September 3, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The European Space Agency (ESA) will soon focus on the Vega-C rocket as its small launch vehicle. Liftoff happened Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 10:50 p.m. GFT (9:50 p.m. EDT, 0150 UTC).

European Space Agency launches inaugural Ariane 6 rocket, encounters upper stage issue

July 7, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The first flight of the rocket will carry several payloads unto low Earth orbit for a variety of customers, including NASA. The rocket launched from French Guiana on July 9, 2024, at 4 p.m. GFT (3 p.m. EDT, 1900 UTC), however, it ran into the anomaly about an hour and 50 minutes into the mission.

SpaceX launches ESA’s EarthCARE on a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base

May 27, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The Earth observing spacecraft will study clouds and aerosols to further our understanding of climate change. Liftoff happened at 3:20 p.m. PDT (6:20 p.m. EDT, 2220 UTC).

Crew-7 returns home following six-month stay at the International Space Station

March 11, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The crew spent 197 days docked at the ISS and welcomed seven visiting vehicles while on orbit. Splashdown off the coast of Florida is anticipated around 5:50 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 12.

ESA Director General: Ariane 6 aiming for summer 2024 debut

November 30, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher said Thursday the Ariane 6 is expected to launch for the first time between June 15 and July 31, 2024. The determination comes on the heels of what ESA determined to be a successful hot fire test of the rocket’s main engine.

NASA begins to chart path forward on its Mars Sample Return architecture following independent review

October 24, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA is aiming to make a determination about the path forward for Mars Sample Return by the end of March 2024.

Rideshare mission on deck for penultimate Vega rocket as Vega-C successor remains sidelined

October 6, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

A pair of Earth observation satellites along with ten auxiliary payloads will launch aboard Arianespace’s penultimate Vega rocket into sun-synchronous orbit on Friday. Vega lifted off at 9:36 p.m. EDT (0138 UTC) on Sunday after a two-day delay.

Galileo satellite deployment campaign to resume

February 6, 2015 Stephen Clark

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.