Today, the European Commission - with the support of ESA - is launching the procurement of Galileo, a global navigation system composed of 30 dedicated navigation satellites and a ground infrastructure with the main control centres in Europe and a network of dedicated stations deployed around the world.
The Herschel spacecraft is now undergoing a series of mechanical tests at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC. The tests are carried out to ensure that the spacecraft can withstand the acoustic and vibration loads that it will encounter during launch.
Sea levels are rising everywhere, but in some areas they are rising quicker than others, bringing increased dangers of flooding. A new satellite - Jason 2 - has been launched to continue work to monitor the situation, providing valuable information for scientists trying to understand how ocean levels fit into the climate change puzzle.
The ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft has just discovered its 1500th comet, making it more successful than all other comet discoverers throughout history put together. Not bad for a spacecraft that was designed as a solar physics mission.
The first thing an alien race is likely to hear from Earth is chirps and whistles, a bit like R2-D2, the robot from Star Wars. In reality, they are the sounds that accompany the aurora. Now ESA’s Cluster mission is showing scientists how to understand this emission and, in the future, search for alien worlds by listening for their sounds.
The ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft has just discovered its 1500th comet, making it more successful than all other comet discoverers throughout history put together. Not bad for a spacecraft that was designed as a solar physics mission.
The eastern part of Brazil’s Amazon Basin and rainforests, located in the state of Pará, is highlighted in this Envisat image.
ESA is giving the astronaut applicants who have passed the first hurdle an opportunity to test themselves before starting the next step in the selection process. In fact, everyone can have a go!
ESA began its search for new astronauts on 19 May, calling for applications from talented individuals who wish to join the European Astronaut Corps. Almost 10 000 individuals registered to begin the application process. At the close of the application phase which lasted a month, 8413 aspiring astronauts provided a medical certificate and finalised the online application form. This qualifies them for the next step in the selection process.
The world’s biggest space show - the 2008 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) - takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, between 29 September and 3 October 2008.
For the second time since April, ESA’s Jules Verne ATV was used to raise the orbit of the International Space Station yesterday. A record boost from the 20 minute burn of the Automated Transfer Vehicle’s main engines successfully lifted the altitude of the 300-tonne Station by around 7 km to an altitude of around 345 km above the Earth’s surface.
This Envisat image captures the marginal ice zone, a region that forms at the boundary of open and frozen oceans, of the Greenland Sea during the onset of spring melting.
Advanced ground penetration radar, originally developed to investigate the soil structure on the Moon and other planets on ESA planetary missions, is now being used in Canadian mines to spot hidden cracks and weaknesses in mine roofs.
ESA’s Jules Verne ATV was used for the first time yesterday to transfer in one step 811 kg of refuelling propellant to the International Space Station while the two vehicles orbited Earth at 28 000 km/h. With this premiere for Europe, Jules Verne becomes the first western spaceship to succeed in refuelling another space infrastructure in orbit.
The winners of the ‘Take your classroom into space’ Call for Education Ideas have been selected. The two best experiment ideas will be performed in space by ESA astronaut Frank De Winne during his spaceflight in 2009. Pupils throughout Europe will be able to compare results obtained in their classroom to those obtained in space.
The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is organising, with European Space Agency (ESA) support, a symposium entitled ‘Celebrating Ten Years of the International Space Station’, to be held at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters (7, place de Fontenoy) on 9/10 July.
Eleven weeks into its integrated service to the International Space Station, Jules Verne ATV has followed up its successful automatic docking on 3 April 2008 by achieving all its scheduled objectives - and much more. ATV is providing capabilities never planned for before its mission.