European Space Agency – Page 29

LISA Pathfinder success bolsters plan for gravitational wave observatory

June 8, 2016 Stephen Clark

Europe’s LISA Pathfinder mission — a fundamental physics lab launched last year to a point a million miles from Earth — has demonstrated the mind-boggling technology required for a future space-based observatory to listen for faint, low-frequency vibrations emitted by invisible objects in the most distant pockets of the universe, scientists said this week.

Photos: Soyuz dashes away from French Guiana launch pad

May 24, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket topped with two European Galileo navigation satellites soared into orbit before dawn Tuesday, vaulting through low clouds hanging over its jungle launch base in French Guiana.

Soyuz launch adds two more satellites to Galileo navigation fleet

May 24, 2016 Stephen Clark

Two more Galileo satellites successfully catapulted into space from the French Guiana jungle aboard a Soyuz rocket Tuesday, putting Europe’s multibillion-dollar navigation system on track to begin limited global service later this year.

Live coverage: Soyuz rocket lifts off with new Galileo satellites

May 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Russian-built Soyuz rocket lifted off from South America at 0848 GMT (4:48 a.m. EDT) Tuesday with two new navigation satellites for Europe’s Galileo system, readying the network for initial operating capability later this year.

Timeline for Soyuz launch 13th and 14th Galileo satellites

May 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

The 13th and 14th operational members of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellite network are set for liftoff Tuesday aboard a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. Track the progress of the flight with this timeline of key events.

Next pair of Galileo navigation satellites encapsulated for launch

May 19, 2016 Stephen Clark

Europe’s nearly $8 billion Galileo navigation system, an analog to the U.S. GPS satellite network, is hitting a stride in production and launches, with another two spacecraft encapsulated Wednesday inside the fairing of a Soyuz rocket for liftoff next week.

First German commander among astronauts named for station flights

May 18, 2016 Stephen Clark

International Space Station managers have named crew members to future expeditions to the research lab in 2017 and 2018, including the first German commander of a space mission and Canada’s third astronaut to fly a long-duration residency on the complex.

Departure of Europe’s first Mars rover delayed to 2020

May 2, 2016 Stephen Clark

Europe’s ExoMars rover will not be ready for launch in 2018, officials said Monday, forcing a two-year delay for the ambitious mission to drill into the Martian surface and search for the remnants of past life.

Europe’s Sentinel satellites generating huge ‘Big Data’ archive

April 28, 2016 Stephen Clark

With a second radar surveillance satellite already returning images less than three days after launch, managers in charge of Europe’s growing fleet of Sentinel environment-monitoring spacecraft will grapple with an immense ‘Big Data’ challenge as the multibillion-dollar program enters a new phase.

Photos: Russia’s iconic Soyuz booster fires away from jungle launch pad

April 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

Five satellites rode a Soyuz booster into orbit Monday from French Guiana, and these spectacular photos from Europe’s tropical spaceport show the legendary rocket’s fiery departure from the edge of the lush Amazon jungle.