After the plethora of orders in April, May’s orders seemed paltry. Nevertheless, there were a few to note: The biggest order for a single mission was a €340 million (US$369 million) one to Airbus DS for the Vigil solar storm warning spacecraft. It is to operate...
The cost of NASA’s Mars Sample Return project has doubled from a projected US$5.3 billion to US$11 billion, prompting many to question whether it is worth continuing with the mission. In response, the US space agency has turned to its field centres for cost cutting...
The dust had barely settled from the fireworks and celebrations of the new year, before launch vehicles were being launched again. Keep up with the latest launches in January on this page, as we will regularly update our tracker: 1 January 2024...
The European Space Agency (ESA) agreed to Avio’s request in November that it take over the full operation of the Vega rocket family from Arianespace in addition to its construction duties. This suited both sides since Avio wanted more control and Arianespace was happy...
ESA has awarded a development contract to the UK arm of Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus DS) to create key technologies to allow the TRUTHS (Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio-Studies) satellite mission to measure solar radiation and the...
The 117th and last Ariane 5, flight VA261 using the Ariane 5 ECA+ variant, successfully lifted off from the ELA3 pad at Kourou, French Guiana, at 2200 GMT on 5 July. The rocket was carrying two communications satellites: Germany’s H2SAT (Heinrich Hertz) and France’s...
