by David Todd | Dec 19, 2014 | ESA, Satellites, Science, Seradata News
The European Space Agency finally called time on its Venus Express mission. Normal contact with the spacecraft has been lost since late November. While some telemetry data has been recovered, the spacecraft is in a spin after its fuel ran out during orbit raising...
by David Todd | Dec 18, 2014 | ESA
Johann-Dietrich Woerner, who is currently chairman of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) will replace Jean-Jacques Dordain as the Director General of the European Space Agency. Dordain leaves the post at the end of June. Woerner was appointed after winning a vote at...
by David Todd | Dec 15, 2014 | commercial launch services, ESA, Satellites
While the agreement to drop Ariane 5 ME in favour of Ariane 6 stole the headlines, the ministerial meeting of the European Space Agency showed some more subtle changes in the national funding strategies as well. Having avoided the huge development costs of the...
by David Todd | Dec 3, 2014 | commercial launch services, ESA, SpaceX
The ESA Ministerial meeting held in Luxembourg on 2 December effectively ratified the decisions that resulted from the “horse trading” between the French, German and Italian governments. That is, the planned Midlife Evolution (ME) upgrade to the venerable...
by David Todd | Nov 24, 2014 | ESA, International Space Station, NASA, Russia, Soyuz
Soyuz TMA-015M was launched by a Soyuz FG at 2101 GMT on 23 November 2014 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site near Tyuratam, Kazakhstan. Aboard the spacecraft were three crew on their way to the International Space Station (ISS): NASA Astronaut Terry Virts,...
by David Todd | Nov 18, 2014 | commercial launch services, ESA, Seradata News
Space News reports that, after a long wrangle between the French and German sides over the future of Europe’s launch vehicles, it has now been decided that Europe will develop only the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle, and that Ariane 5 ME (Midlife Evolution) upgrade...