ESTEC – Spaceflight Now

March 9, 2026

Breaking News

[ March 7, 2026 ] NASA contract confirms selection of ULA’s Centaur 5 as new upper stage for the SLS rocket Artemis
[ March 6, 2026 ] SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg SFB Sunday Falcon 9
[ March 5, 2026 ] Spanish launch startup PLD Space raises $209 million to scale its rocket production Miura 5
[ March 3, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 600th Starlink satellite of 2026 during predawn Falcon 9 rocket flight from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9
[ March 1, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9

BepiColombo Mercury mission tested for journey into ‘pizza oven’

July 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

Three spacecraft built in Europe and Japan have completed their final joint tests to ensure they are ready for departure to Mercury on an Ariane 5 rocket late next year on the nearly $1.9 billion BepiColombo mission to survey the solar system’s innermost planet.