On 4 December 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO) signed an agreement that will see ESA provide ground station support to the missions in ISRO’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
On 10 November 2024, the final of three Australian CubeSats reentered the atmosphere. Like many other small satellite missions, they benefitted from the SMILE lab for tracking and monitoring.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
ESA’s Hera mission has completed the first critical manoeuvre on its journey to the Didymos binary asteroid system since launch on 7 October.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
The day began with an 85% chance that bad weather would cause a launch delay: it ended with ESA’s Hera mission successfully in space and enroute to the Didymos binary asteroid system.
At 16:52 CEST (14:52 UTC) on 7 October 2024, Hera took to the skies aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA. After a smooth 76-minute ascent, the spacecraft separated from its launcher, and, a few minutes later, ESA’s ESOC mission operations centre in Germany assumed control of the spacecraft.
Here is what has happened since then.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Image: Mission control GO for Hera launch
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Download this Hera launch kit to learn more about the mission's planetary defence, technology demonstration and bonus science goals.
Click here to view the launch kit (in English).
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Sentinel-2C has completed its important first few days in space, which saw teams on the ground working around the clock to ensure the spacecraft is ready to begin its mission.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
The first satellite in ESA’s Cluster quartet safely came back down to Earth last night in a world-first ‘targeted reentry’, marking a brilliant end to this remarkable mission.
The spacecraft, dubbed ‘Salsa’ (Cluster 2), reentered Earth’s atmosphere at 20:47 CEST on 8 September 2024 over the South Pacific Ocean. In this region, any risk of fragments reaching land are absolutely minimised.
During the last two decades Cluster has spent in space, it has provided invaluable data on how the Sun interacts with Earth’s magnetic field, helping us better understand and forecast space weather. With this first-ever targeted reentry, Cluster will go down in history for a second reason – helping ESA become a world-leader in sustainable space exploration.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Image: Mission control GO for Sentinel-2C launch
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby, using the gravity of Earth to send it Venus-bound, on a shortcut to Jupiter through the inner Solar System.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Video: 00:01:02
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) is coming back to Earth.
Our fearless traveller is getting a nudge from Earth this summer, in the first of four ‘gravity assist manoeuvres’ that will put Juice on precisely the right path to arrive at Jupiter with the correct speed and direction in July 2031.
This is the second big milestone in Juice’s journey to Jupiter, with the first being the launch into space on 14 April 2023. This second helping hand takes a very different form, with Juice flying past the Moon on 19 August, lining it up to fly past Earth on 20 August. The Earth flyby will line the spacecraft up for a flyby of Venus in summer 2025.
Gravity is a fickle friend. These gravity assist flybys are a valuable technique to get Juice to Jupiter with less fuel, but they threaten derailment at any time. ESA mission operators will be keeping a very close eye on the spacecraft as it approaches the Moon-Earth system, making any tiny adjustments needed to keep the spacecraft on the right course.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Happy International Moon Day!
ESA’s network of satellite communication stations – Estrack – continues to connect Earth and the Moon in 2024. ESA stations are supporting three new and returning partners this year: one of them carried ESA’s first scientific instrument to the lunar surface and another will deploy the first Moon rover made in Europe.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Launched in December 2013, ESA’s Gaia spacecraft is on a mission to map the locations and motions of more than a billion stars in the Milky Way with extreme precision.
But it’s not easy being a satellite: space is a dangerous place. In recent months, hyper-velocity space dust and the strongest solar storm in 20 years have threatened Gaia’s ability to carry out the precise measurements for which it is famous.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Blog: Juice's lunar-Earth flyby
Follow for the latest updates as ESA's Jupiter mission swings through the Earth system this summer
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
A network of ground stations around the world, including two owned by ESA, will track the debut flight of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket. They will monitor key phases of the flight and gather telemetry and video that will be used to analyse the rocket’s performance and optimise future launches.
#operations #space #science #esa #europeanspaceagency
posted by pod_feeder_v2
ESA’s Hera mission is due to launch in October this year on a quest to survey the Didymos binary asteroid system and study the results of the first-ever test of asteroid deflection.
The spacecraft is currently undergoing its final system tests in the Netherlands in preparation for transport to its launch site in the USA. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hera’s Mission Control Team recently began launch preparations of their own.
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
OPS-SAT Space Lab
Visit the OPS-SAT Space Lab experimenter website for the latest information on OPS-SAT missions and services
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
ESA’s experimental OPS-SAT CubeSat mission came to an end during the night of 22—23 May 2024 (CEST).
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
Follow OPS-SAT's atmospheric reentry live
The latest telemetry during the mission's final hours
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posted by pod_feeder_v2
