by David Todd | Jul 9, 2015 | ESA, Satellites, Technology
In a public private partnership (PPP) contract, Airbus Defence and Space has received an initial €180 million (US$198 million) contract to develop the first flexible Quantum satellite with Eutelsat and ESA. The spacecraft will have the first reconfigurable...
by David Todd | Jun 22, 2015 | ESA, On a Lighter Note, Seradata News
A cat who was a mascot at the Kourou aerodrome in French Guiana had obviously decided to check out the local Ariane launch pads from the air after he was found in mid-air to have stowed away in the wing of a micro-light aircraft. In film footage of the flight, the...
by David Todd | Jun 17, 2015 | ESA, Launches
The French Government has finally agreed that the 26% of Arianespace shares that its space agency CNES holds will now be transferred to Airbus Safran Launchers. This will bring the overall shareholding of Arianespace that Airbus Safran Launchers holds to 74%. The...
by David Todd | Jun 15, 2015 | ESA, exploration, Satellites, Science, Seradata News
The European Space Agency’s Philae Minilab Lander, which had been in enforced hibernation for seven months after landing in a shadowy crevice on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, has woken up. Signals from the craft were received at ESA’s European Space...
by David Todd | Jun 14, 2015 | ESA, exploration, Technology
As he awaited the start of his tenure as Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) on 1 July 2015, replacing the admired Jean-Jacques Dordain in the role, Dr Jan (Johann Dietrich) Woerner noted his enthusiasm for a planned lunar base and village on the Moon...
by David Todd | Jun 12, 2015 | ESA, International Space Station, NASA, Russia, Seradata News, Soyuz
Soyuz TMA-015M undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 1020 GMT on 11 June 2015 ready for its re-entry the same day. Despite concerns that it had previously made an un-commanded thruster firing while attached to the station, all went well in the...
