As part of the Copernicus programme, Sentinel-1A is the first of a two-satellite mission that will image land and oceans using highly precise radar, enabling the pair to acquire imagery regardless of weather. Soyuz VS07 was transferred from the preparation building MIK to the Soyuz launch zone of the Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, on 31…
Photos of the Day: ESA’s Zone of Silence
Kept isolated from the external Universe, a special ESA chamber simulates the boundless emptiness of space for testing satellite antennas. This chamber at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands is a crucial part of the Agency’s ability to check antennas attached to complete five-tonne satellites. Metal walls block out all external electromagnetic signals such as…
Sourcing Power for Galileo
As they bathe the ground below them in test navigation messages, Europe’s Galileo satellites are kept alive by the Sun. A pair of 5 m-long solar arrays supply 1.9 kilowatts of power – about the same as an average household’s consumption. These arrays are sourced from the Dutch Space company in the Netherlands. Located just outside…
Photo of the Day: The Doorway to Space
This is the engineer’s entrance to ESA’s Large Space Simulator, Europe’s largest vacuum chamber. Entire satellites requiring testing in simulated space conditions are lowered down into the 15 m-high and 10 m-diameter chamber through a hatch on top. Once the top and side hatches are sealed, the high-performance pumps can create a vacuum a billion…
Simulator Testing Propulsion Systems at ESA
The first hot fire test of an experimental simulator to measure pressure oscillations in solid rocket boosters was performed yesterday at the French military procurement agency test site in Saint Jean d’Illiac, France. Controlling these oscillations is a critical factor in designing rocket motors using solid propellant. The success of this first test opens the…
Catching Signals from a Speeding Satellite
Soaring high above Earth as they speed through space, satellites are difficult targets to track. Now a new approach developed in Europe is helping ground stations to acquire signals faster and more accurately than ever before. During launch, a satellite is flung into orbit with tremendous force, attaining speeds of over 28 000 km/h –…
Photo of the Day: ESA’s Expensive Silicon Wafter
All of our most skilled space capabilities depend ultimately on an object such as this. Carefully wrapped in protective anti-static and anti-shock foam packaging, this silicon wafer etched with integrated circuits for space missions was manufactured in an identical batch of 25, worth well over €2 million. This 20 cm-diameter wafer contains 35 replicas of five…
Photos of the Day: The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle Prepares for Launch on Vega
The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) is a European Space Agency (ESA) experimental re-entry vehicle intended to validate European reusable launchers. This picture shows the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) flight model during integration at Thales Alenia Space, Torino, Italy, on 12 February 2014. It will be launched by ESA in 2014 on Vega, Europe’s new small…
Space Tech Makes Train Travel Safer
Good train brakes are crucial for safe rail journeys. In Germany, they are now checked daily using advanced technology that helps spacecraft return safely to Earth. Railway personnel at Deutsche Bundesbahn simply connect the new automatic tester to the hydraulic brake clutches and select the train type. The computer does the rest via a special…
Mars Express to Relay First Science Data from Mars Curiosity
This weekend shaped up to be a big one for ESA/NASA interplanetary cooperation. Early on Saturday morning, 6 October, central European time, ESA’s Mars Express will look down as it orbits above the Red Planet, lining up its Lander Communication System (MELACOM) antenna to point at NASA’s Mars Curiosity on the surface. For 15 minutes,…