COVID-19: Guiana Space Center suspends launch campaigns, Arianespace “Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the need to fully implement the measures decided by the French government, launch campaigns underway at the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana have been suspended. These launch preparations will resume as soon as allowed by health conditions. This exceptional measure is designed to protect the health of employees and the local population, while also […]
The Next Economic Revolution Just (re)Launched: Congratulate SpaceX, Thank NASA, OpEd, Greg Autry, Forbes “Our global competitors in Russia, China and even Europe remain wedded to an antiquated socialist vision of space development. Their space “programs” are run by state-owned enterprises and quasi-governmental national champions. While they flirt with very small commercial endeavors and rebrand their government bureaucracies as “companies”, the political leaders of these nations are very unlikely to […]
Europe’s Latest Galileo Satellites Injected Into Wrong Orbit After Launch, SpaceRef Business “An investigation is underway after yesterday’s launch by Arianespace of a Soyuz rocket which left its twin payload of Europe’s fifth and six Galileo GPS satellites in a lower wrong orbit. According to a statement released by Arianespace “complementary observations gathered after separation of the Galileo FOC M1 satellites on Soyuz Flight VS09 have highlighted a discrepancy between […]
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Arianespace Conclude MOU on Cooperation in Commercial Space Rocket Launches, Arianespace “With the new MOU, MHI and Arianespace agreed to collectively probe the creation of innovative new launch services and standardization of satellite preparation tasks at launch sites as a follow-up to their cooperative achievements to date. The aims behind the latest initiative are further development of the commercial launch market and sustained enhancement of the […]
Launch of ESA’s ATV-4 Einstein, ArianeSpace Marc’s note: Today’s launch went off without a hitch at 5:52 p.m. EDT (21:52 GMT). The Automated Transfer Vehicle 4 or ‘Einstein’ is loaded with more than 7 tons of supplies for the International Space Station crew. ATV-4 was named by ESA in honor of the 20th century theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein. The Ariane 5 launched from Kourou, French Guiana.
Citing SpaceX Threat, Lawmakers In France Urge Early Ariane 6 Start, SpaceNews (behind paywall) “French Sen. Bruno Sido said to compare the SpaceX facility with the equivalent manufacturing operation of the Ariane 5 rocket, some of which is done in Les Mureaux, France, is to become fearful for the future of Europe’s launch vehicle autonomy. “Visiting Les Mureaux is like entering an impressive laboratory,” Sido said in a press briefing […]
Marc’s note: You can watch live the final flight of the year of an Arianespace Soyuz-Fregat launch at 12:09 pm ET. This is the 1,784th launch of a Soyuz rocket which will orbit six new satellites of the Globalstar-2 constellation. The launch is from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Marc’s Update 2:17 pm: The Soyuz has launched successfully. from Arianespace: “For today’s launch, the liftoff occurred at 11:09 p.m. local […]
ESA Unable To Secure Commitment to Station Extension, Space News “The European Space Agency (ESA) was unable to win its member governments’ approval of NASA’s proposed five-year extension of operations of the international space station because of an unrelated dispute over financial support for Europe’s Arianespace commercial launch services consortium, ESA and European government officials said. As a result, no decision approving the station’s extension to 2020 will be made […]
