NASA announced this evening that the launch of the European Columbus laboratory on board Space Shuttle Atlantis’ STS-122 mission to the International Space Station is now is targeted for no earlier than 24 January 2008. For the latest updates, please consult the NASA website.
ESA CP 02-2008. On Monday 14 January ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain will meet the press at ESA Headquarters in Paris.
ESA PR 1-2008. Press conferences, exhibitions, launches, political rendezvous and much more … the list of the main communication activities that ESA will be involved in this year is a long one, but not an exhaustive one. You should pencil these dates into your diaries.
NASA has outlined a plan to repair a faulty electrical connector on Space Shuttle Atlantis’ external fuel tank. The repair could take several days or even weeks. The launch date for ESA’s Columbus laboratory of 10 January 2008 is no longer feasible. For the latest updates, please consult the NASA website.
Yesterday evening, an Ariane 5 GS launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on its mission to place two satellites into geostationary transfer orbits. Lift-off of flight V180 took place at 21:42 GMT/UTC (18:42 local time, 22:42 CET/Paris). The satellites were accurately injected into the correct transfer orbits about 30 minutes later.
A multinational team of ground controllers are undergoing intense training for the launch of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), one of the most complex spacecraft ever built and flown by ESA.
The space-borne telescope, COROT (Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits), has just completed its first year in orbit. The observatory has brought in surprises after over 300 days of scientific observations.
ESA, NASA and an international team are developing plans and seeking recommendations to launch the first Mars mission to bring soil samples back to Earth. The ability to study soil from Mars here on Earth will contribute significantly to answering questions about the possibility of life on the Red Planet.
On 28 December, it will be two years since GIOVE-A - the first Galileo satellite - was launched by a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, in Kazakhstan. This satellite demonstrates the progress Europe has made in setting up its own navigation system.
Enhancing interoperability during European civil protection operations is the objective of an ESA project named Decision. In the context of this project, field trials were held in Chartres, France, focusing on satellite solutions to improve cooperation between civil protection agencies in crisis theatres - whether they occur in Europe or outside.
For the first time in 40 years of space activities, a silent revolution is taking place at the European launch site in Kourou. Jules Vernes, the first human-rated spacecraft to be launched from Europe’s Spaceport, is being prepared for launch.
Enhancing interoperability during European civil protection operations is the objective of an ESA project named Decision. In the context of this project, field trials were held in Chartres, France, focusing on satellite solutions to improve cooperation between civil protection agencies in crisis theatres - whether they occur in Europe or outside.
This week, EuroNews features an interview with David Southwood, ESA’s Director of Scientific Programmes. The topic is Cosmic Vision, ESA’s long-term plan for scientific exploration.”
NASA has updated its media accreditation
deadlines for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis, carrying ESA’s Columbus laboratory to the ISS. The launch is now provisionally targetted for 10 January.
German student Nicole Schmiedel has come up with a design for a trendy-looking wristwatch that contains an innovative ultra-light insulin pump to help people with type 1 diabetes. The watch produces its own electricity thanks to the use of piezo-electric technology originally developed for European satellites.
Somewhere deep below Saturn’s cloud tops, the planet rotates at a constant speed. Determining this interior period of rotation has proven extremely complicated. Now, with new Cassini results, a team of European scientists have taken an important step forward.
