ESA – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Rosetta raises questions on how water got to Earth

December 11, 2014 Stephen Clark

New readings from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission have challenged the theory that comets brought water to Earth in a series of cataclysmic collisions during the solar system’s chaotic youth.

Galileo launch failure blamed on frozen Fregat fuel line

October 8, 2014 Stephen Clark

A design flaw in a Russian Fregat upper stage was responsible for the botched orbital injection of two European Galileo navigation satellites in August, causing hydrazine fuel to freeze inside the rocket’s maneuvering system and rendering it unable to point in the right direction during a critical engine burn.

Candidate landing sites selected for ESA Mars rover

October 5, 2014 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency has announced four candidate landing sites for the ExoMars rover, as a deadline looms to secure full funding for the mission in time for a scheduled launch to the red planet in 2018.