Space News & Blog Articles

Video: 00:03:21

Going to the Moon was the first step. Staying there is the next ambition.

Image: Wireless power from space

An advanced broadband satellite that can offer high-speed internet connectivity anywhere on Earth is ready to enter its final assembly ahead of launch.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is widely referred to as the successor to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. In reality, it is the successor to a lot more than that. With the inclusion of the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI), Webb also became a successor to infrared space telescopes such as ESA’s Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

Satellite operator Intelsat has placed an order for the first small geostationary “HummingSat” developed as part of ESA’s efforts to support fast, dynamic and agile private space firms in Europe.

Week in images: 31 October - 4 November 2022

The complex and diverse landscape that surrounds Nushagak Bay in Alaska is featured in this true-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Video: 00:06:36

Galileo has grown to become Europe’s single largest satellite constellation, and the world’s most accurate satellite navigation system, delivering metre-level positioning to more than 3.5 billion users around the globe.
It all began at ESTEC’s Test Centre, Europe’s largest satellite testing facility. This is where the very first positioning fix took place in March 2013, after the launch into orbit of the initial four IOV satellites. Following that, all 34 Galileo Full Operational Capability satellites also passed by ESTEC for their pre-flight testing.
This 3000 sq. m environmentally-controlled complex, operated and managed by European Test Services for ESA, hosts an array of test equipment able to simulate all aspects of spaceflight, from the noise and vibration of launch to the vacuum and temperature extremes of Earth orbit.
The production line at manufacturer OHB in Germany completed one new satellite every six weeks. After integration each satellite was then shipped to the ESTEC Test Centre for a three-month test campaign, after which it would be accepted by the Agency and declared ready for flight. Some facilities have had to be adapted specifically for Galileo, and the ESTEC Test Centre had to institute new security protocols because this was the first time that satellites with security restrictions were being tested at the site.
Today there are 28 of these Galileo First Generation satellites in service, with 10 more due to be launched in the next years. Upgraded Galileo Second Generation satellites are under development and will follow them into orbit later this decade.
Members of ESA’s Galileo team and ETS look back on this massive testing effort that established Galileo was ready for space.

For decades, satellites have been instrumental in monitoring our changing climate and improving our understanding of the processes that drive it. But to achieve our climate goals and make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, we need ideas that take the next step and begin to use space technologies to actively prevent, slow, reverse or otherwise address these changes.

The 2023 internship opportunities at ESA have been published! Opportunities are open for one month and positions are available in engineering, science, IT, natural/social sciences, business and administration services. This is your chance to kick-off your experience in space!

There are times when we could all do with a bit of magic in our lives. And, with the Global Climate Observing System announcement of ‘terrestrial water storage’ as a completely new Essential Climate Variable, the world of climate research and climate crisis response would certainly benefit from a satellite mission called MAGIC.

Image: Halloween Crack for Halloween

This is not an ethereal landscape of time-forgotten tombs. Nor are these soot-tinged fingers reaching out. These pillars, flush with gas and dust, ‘bury’ stars that are slowly forming over many millennia. The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has snapped this eerie, extremely dusty view of the Pillars of Creation in mid-infrared light – showing us a new view of a familiar landscape.

Week in images: 24-28 October 2022

The first samples to be taken from Mars and sent to Earth will be sourced from Jezero Crater, where the Perseverance rover has been exploring the crater floor and nearby ancient delta.  The location of an initial cache of samples, called Three Forks, is flat and free of obstacles – an ideal spot for a Mars Sample Return landing and pickup operations.

Image: Mini-radar for asteroid CubeSat

Extremely high temperatures recorded this summer caused record melting across Svalbard – one of the fastest warming places on the planet. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured this rare, cloud-free acquisition of the Norwegian archipelago in August 2022.

Image: Ten years: Warsaw at night

Video: 00:01:27

The ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission has experienced its second close encounter with the Sun. It is delivering more stunning data, and at higher resolution than ever before.