European Space Agency – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launches European Commission’s Galileo satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center

April 27, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission marked the first time that an American-made rocket launched Europe’s answer to the GPS satellite constellation. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A happened at 8:34 p.m. EDT (0034 UTC) on Saturday, April 27.

Swiss company selects Arianespace to launch first space debris removal mission

May 27, 2023 Clive Simpson

Swiss-based in-orbit servicing startup ClearSpace has contracted Arianespace to launch its first debris removal mission to capture and deorbit a piece of space debris.

Jammed radar boom on Jupiter-bound JUICE probe finally freed

May 19, 2023 Spaceflight Now

After three weeks of intense analysis and troubleshooting, European Space Agency flight controllers have finally succeeded in freeing a jammed boom critical to the Jupiter-bound JUICE probe’s ice-penetrating radar instrument.

Viasat seeks replacement for Ariane 6 for launch of third ViaSat 3 satellite

April 30, 2023 Stephen Clark

On the eve of launching its first ViaSat 3 internet satellite on a SpaceX rocket, Viasat says it has moved the launch of an identical spacecraft off of Europe’s long-delayed Ariane 6 rocket, and is considering bids from other rocket companies.

Europe launches spacecraft on eight-year journey to explore Jupiter’s moons

April 14, 2023 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket took off from French Guiana Friday with the heaviest interplanetary science probe ever launched, kicking off a $1.7 billion European Space Agency mission on a decade-long quest to Jupiter’s icy moons in search of environments that could be habitable for life.

Lightning threat delays launch of Europe’s first mission to Jupiter

April 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

The liftoff of Europe’s first mission to Jupiter aboard an Ariane 5 rocket was scrubbed Thursday in French Guiana due to a high risk of lightning at the launch site, delaying until Friday the start of the JUICE spacecraft’s voyage of exploration.

Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket launches Europe’s first mission to Jupiter

April 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

After the threat of lightning kept the mission on the ground Thursday, Arianespace and the European Space Agency successfully launched an Ariane 5 rocket Friday from Kourou, French Guiana, with the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, a robotic spacecraft embarking on an eight-year journey to the solar system’s largest planet. Liftoff with ESA’s JUICE spacecraft occurred at 8:14 a.m. EDT (1214 UTC).

JUICE’s launch campaign in imagery

April 12, 2023 Stephen Clark

These photos and a time lapse video from the European Space Agency chronicle the final preparations for launch of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, spacecraft from the Guiana Space Center on the second-to-last Ariane 5 rocket.

Europe’s first mission to Jupiter poised for launch from South America

April 12, 2023 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency’s $1.7 billion robotic Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission is ready for liftoff Thursday from French Guiana, beginning an eight-year cruise to the solar system’s largest planet before becoming the first-ever spacecraft to orbit one of Jupiter’s moons in the 2030s.

Webb telescope sees the prelude to a supernova

March 21, 2023 Stephen Clark

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a rare glimpse of a massive star 15,000 light-years away shedding a halo of gas and dust, seeding the cosmos with elements necessary for forming other stars, planets, and the building blocks of life.