Open Cosmos, the UK startup that uses satellites to fight climate change, has successfully launched its fourth satellite this year. Its mission? To monitor volcanic activity and wildfires in the Canary Islands.
Part of the ESA PIONEER Programme, the so-called ALISIO-1 is a small 6U satellite, developed for the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.
The cutting-edge work of Native American aerospace engineer Mary Golda Ross
As Native American Heritage Month comes to a close, for our “Hidden Histories” series, we look at the life and legacy of Mary Golda Ross, the first Native American woman to become an engineer and a pioneering figure of the space age.
Europe's Ariane 6 rocket rated is 'ready to rumble' after passing a hot fire test.
The test, the longest "full stack" run for Ariane 6's lower liquid propulsion module with a Vulcain 2.1 engine, was conducted on the launch pad at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
The European Space Agency has signed a deal with Airbus and Voyager Space to secure its next home in orbit.
The two companies are currently developing Starlab, a planned replacement for the International Space Station (ISS), set to retire in 2030.
Under the agreement, ESA will assess how the Starlab space station could be used to provide continued access to space for Europe after the retirement of the ISS.
Bulgaria is now the 32nd nation to officially sign on to NASA Artemis Accords.
Agreeing to work in peaceful, open, partnership with NASA and 30 other countries
in all aspects of moon exploration, colonization, and resource mining.
Let us hope many more countries continue to follow.
Canadian government backs 2024 space accelerator in Southern California
Canadian space entrepreneurs seeking to raise $500,000 to $20 million are invited to join the 2024 SoCal-Canadian Space Accelerator.
It is open to Canadian space startups interested in “Earth observation, emissions monitoring, low-earth orbit, small satellites, flight-path optimization, artificial intelligence, deep space, space manufacturing, space mining, astronaut health”.
The European Space Agency will let private firms compete for chance to deliver cargo to ISS.
ESA announced Monday it would hold a competition between firms to build a ship to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, in a potential first step towards independent missions carrying astronauts.
#introduction! I'm a pro #guitarist with the band Maggie Speaks. Freelance video editor (indie doc Cover 21: Ignite Chicago, on Amazon). Amateur #photographer.
Europe’s first operational continental spaceport has officially opened in a major boost for Germany’s Isar Aerospace — which is hastily preparing for its maiden flight from the site next year.
Andøya Spaceport, on Andøya island in Norway’s northwest, will host several launch pads. Isar Aerospace has exclusive access to the first launch site, where it will test its two-stage rocket Spectrum.
Cultivated meat is a ‘promising’ space food for astronauts, ESA says.
Development of cultivated meat, i.e. actual animal meat that’s grown in bioreactors from stem cells, has been gaining traction in recent years.
Over the past year, the European Space Agency (ESA) has been exploring whether cultivated meat can be a viable food option in space, used as a protein source that can be produced in situ.
German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg has secured £3.5mn (€4mn) in funding from the UK Space Agency as it prepares for its maiden flight next year from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland.
The funding was awarded under the European Space Agency’s Boost! Programme, which aims to help companies develop new launch technologies and bring them to the market.
A new ESA mission is heading back to the asteroid NASA’s DART spacecraft nudged off course when it crashed onto its surface last year.
Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) is undergoing preparations for a follow-up mission that will return to the asteroid to conduct surveys of the impact.
The HERA mission, named for the Greek goddess of marriage is slated for an October 2024 launch.
Around 250 kilometres off the north coast of Scotland, the Shetland isle of Unst undergoing a dramatic renovation.
On a peninsula flanked by giant cliffs and open ocean, builders are constructing a spaceport. They call the project SaxaVord. They say it could host the first-ever vertical rocket launches from Western Europe.
EU lawmakers have called for more independence from third countries in space launches, including EU-funded space pads and an EU preference.
In efforts to reduce third-country dependencies in the space sector, EU lawmakers highlighted “the need to support the establishment of geographically diversified spaceports and launch complexes on EU territory, furthering the EU’s strategic autonomy in the space domain”.
A new EU mission has sent some suitably space-age tech into the cosmos. On a Vega rocket that launched from the European spaceport in French Guyana on Monday, the union sent six satellites and nine experiments into orbit for testing.
Five space-age technologies that the EU just launched into orbit.
Spanish company PLD Space launched its reusable Miura-1 rocket early on Saturday from a site in south-west Spain, carrying out Europe’s first fully private rocket launch.
The startup’s test launch from Huelva came after two previous attempts were scrubbed. The Miura-1 rocket, named after a breed of fighting bull, has a 100kg cargo capacity.
The launch carried a payload for test purposes but this will not be released.
The European Space Agency has funded a mission to launch a fleet of satellites that will help scientists study space weather and how it can increase debris orbiting our home world.
The project, dubbed ROARS - Revealing the Orbital and Atmospheric Responses to Solar activity – involves 26 research institutions across nine countries, including the UK, Germany, Austria, and the US.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is looking for tech companies to take part in its Terrae Novae exploration programme, calling for proposals for small missions to the Moon.
Sending the first European astronaut to explore the Moon’s surface stands at the core of the Terrae Novae 2030+ strategy. It further aims to boost Europe’s presence in low-Earth orbit and participate in the first human mission to Mars.
"How Pterosaurs Might Inform the Next Generation of #Flight
"After #Paleontologists cracked the secrets of the ancient flying #Reptiles, researchers are... going back to these ancient creatures to find new ways to fly, from #Aircraft with pterosaur-like crests to pterosaur-inspired spacecraft exploring the nooks and crannies of #Mars."
The European Space Agency has signed up to build and launch the European Union's Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite constellation.
The project, known as IRIS2, has been on the books since 2022, when the European Union found €2.4 billion to fund the effort aimed at giving the bloc's members secure space-based comms capabilities and freeing them from reliance on foreign infrastructure.