Thales Alenia Space – Page 6

ExoMars rover leaves British factory, heads for testing in France

August 28, 2019 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover left its Airbus factory in Britain on Wednesday, heading for a round of testing in France before integration with its carrier and descent modules on pace for launch toward the Red Planet next July.

ExoMars parachute failures could jeopardize 2020 launch date

August 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency has confirmed a parachute for the ExoMars rover mission set for launch next July failed during a test over Sweden earlier this month, the project’s second parachute test accident since May.

NASA taps Northrop Grumman in sole-source agreement to build Gateway habitat

July 23, 2019 Stephen Clark

Racing against the clock to meet the Trump administration’s 2024 deadline to land astronauts on the moon, NASA plans to select Northrop Grumman to build a pressurized habitation module derived from the company’s Cygnus cargo craft for living quarters for crews transiting to and from the lunar surface.

UAE military satellite lost in Vega launch failure

July 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

A European Vega launcher failed Wednesday night around two minutes after liftoff from French Guiana and fell into the Atlantic Ocean, destroying an Airbus-built surveillance satellite for the United Arab Emirates.

Vega launch timeline with Falcon Eye 1

July 10, 2019 Stephen Clark

The Falcon Eye 1 military reconnaissance satellite for the United Arab Emirates is set to ride a Vega launcher into a 379-mile-high (611-kilometer) orbit Wednesday night from French Guiana on a mission that will take less than one hour from liftoff until spacecraft separation.

Live coverage: Vega rocket fails during launch of UAE surveillance satellite

July 10, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Vega rocket faltered minutes after liftoff from French Guiana at 9:53 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0153 GMT) and failed to reach orbit with a European-built reconnaissance satellite for the United Arab Emirates. The payload and launcher fell into the Atlantic Ocean, marking the first failure for the solid-fueled Vega launch vehicle.

Arianespace delays Vega launch to avoid unfavorable high-altitude winds

July 5, 2019 Stephen Clark

The launch from French Guiana of a solid-fueled Vega rocket with a European-built surveillance satellite for the United Arab Emirates has been postponed, Arianespace said, citing unfavorable high-altitude winds over the spaceport. Officials have not set a new target launch date.

Newly-launched Russian telecom satellite relying on backup thrusters

June 10, 2019 Stephen Clark

A French-built communications satellite for Russia’s Gazprom Space Systems launched May 30 is maneuvering toward its final operating location in geostationary orbit using a set of backup thrusters after the spacecraft encountered a problem with its main engine.

Photos: Proton blasts off with Yamal 601

June 3, 2019 Stephen Clark

Look back on the May 30 launch of a Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with this gallery of photos showing the 19-story launcher climbing into the sky with the Yamal 601 communications satellite.

Proton rocket lifts off with Yamal 601 communications satellite

May 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

On its first launch of the year, a Russian-made Proton rocket lifted off Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with a French-built, Russian-owned communications satellite.