European Space News

Gessler said:
ESA to seek lunar mapping capability for Argonaut lander​

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https://spacenews.com/esa-to-seek-lunar-mapping-capability-for-argonaut-lander/

"...Several spacefaring countries with lunar ambitions have invested over the past two decades in high-resolution topographic mapping, which is essential for identifying safe landing areas and potential sites for future lunar infrastructure.

Europe, however, does not have sovereign lunar topographic data to support Argonaut. That means ESA will need to rely on existing mission data, including data that can be procured from other providers, at least for the early phases of the program.

Albeit not confirmed, the three most likely nations that can provide lunar maps to Europe are the United States, India or China. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2009, has provided global lunar topographic maps at about 100 meters per pixel, with targeted imaging down to about 0.5 meters/pixel. India’s Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC), launched in 2019, can image selected areas at about 0.25 meters/pixel, making it one of the highest-resolution lunar mapping instruments currently in operation. China, from Chang’e-1 onwards, has also built up a substantial lunar mapping capability to support future landing and exploration activities..."

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My comment: They'll most likely go with NASA's LRO datasets (as that's what primarily fed the Artemis program, though India's CY-2 data also had a small hand in selecting some landing locations, seek link below). But it'd be great if they decide to diversify their sources given the political developments back on Earth. Going with China might be a stretch, India could be a middle road option. Besides, CY-2's imagery is clearly better than most (if not any) dataset currently available. So there's a qualitative reason for selecting it as well.

https://jatan.space/indian-space-issue-15/#isro-aids-artemis

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https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/ouynSpipNy

We'll see how it goes...
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Oh, poor Europe, never the first in space these days - I'm so glad I moved to sunny SoCal decades ago...
 
Posting a video about a zero G gym is on the lighter side of news but I guess it'll fly (puns intended). Doesn't seem like the simplest piece of kit to assemble and operate but based on personal experience deeper in the gravity well of our neck of the woods that's just how some of this equipment is sometimes. Membership is pretty exclusive but at least it's included in your assignment.

View: https://youtu.be/fymxm8JgXqU
 
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martinbayer said:
Ve vill dominate se global orbital space launch market by completely antiquated EU government dictated launch vehicle designs, haha!
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That only partially applies to Maia (because it is a direct derivative of Themis and is bound by some of its design choices), not to the others.

What I see is that the Brits didn't reinvest most of the funding they had commited, following last year's ministerial their commitment of
€144M/£120M to the ELC was divided between €21.7M to Orbex, €10M to RFA and €112.3M commited but to be distributed., it seems only the funding to RFA survived.
 
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martinbayer said:
Ve vill dominate se global orbital space launch market by completely antiquated EU government dictated launch vehicle designs, haha!
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Spoken from a country that proves to be more anti-science by the day, and whose administration has done everything in its power to destroy the scientific basis of what was once the leading space agency in the world in the form of NASA. So don’t come on here and sneer about European space when you willingly destroy your own country’s legacy in space. In fact so much damage has been done to NASA in loss of people and skills that it will literally take generations to recover it.

Once Dragonfly is launched NASA has no more scientific missions in the pipeline. You have abdicated your position in the role of the scientific exploration of space to countries such as China.
 
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Flyaway said:
Spoken from a country that proves to be more anti-science by the day, and whose administration has done everything in its power to destroy the scientific basis of what was once the leading space agency in the world in the form of NASA. So don’t come on here and sneer about European space when you willingly destroy your own country’s legacy in space. In fact so much damage has been done to NASA in loss of people and skills that it will literally take generations to recover it.

Once Dragonfly is launched NASA has no more scientific missions in the pipeline. You have abdicated your position in the role of the scientific exploration of space to countries such as China.
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I am a German/EU citizen living/residing as an expat/resident alien in Southern California, USA, and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever why on God's Green Earth you accuse me of willingly destroying my own country’s (i.e. the Federal Republic of Germany) legacy in space.
 
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martinbayer said:
I am a German/EU citizen living/residing as an expat/resident alien in Southern California, USA, and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever why on God's Green Earth you accuse me of willingly destroying my own country’s (i.e. the Federal Republic of Germany) legacy in space.
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You know very well what I meant so don’t stick up your straw man.
 
The latest Ariane 6 launch, from the ESA:


The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager2 (MTG-I2) satellite, has been launched on board an Ariane 6 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Lift off was on 27 August 2026 at 22:11 CEST (17:10 local time).

MTG-I2 is part of the MTG constellation for Eumetsat – two are already in orbit – and it will produce images for weather forecasting in Europe in unprecedented detail. This mission provides completely new data products and capabilities for European weather services, especially suited to nowcasting of severe weather events.

The MTG-Imager satellites carry two instruments, a Lightning Imager and a Flexible Combined Imager. The Lightning Imager offers completely new capabilities for European meteorological satellites by continuously monitoring for lightning. By doing this from geostationary orbit, at an altitude of about 36 000 km above the equator, it can scan more than 80% of Earth’s surface seen from that viewpoint.

The Flexible Combined Imager, on the other hand, builds a picture of fast-evolving weather systems and can be used to issue timely weather warnings. It is particularly relevant for air traffic safety. It is able to scan its view of Earth in just 10 minutes and can scan Europe and northern Africa every 2.5 minutes.

When MTG is fully operational, it is expected to produce at least 50 times more data than the previous Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites.

This was the ninth launch of Europe’s heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6. For this launch, Ariane 6 was configured with two P120C-based solid-propellant rocket motors to launch MTG-I2 to a geostationary transfer orbit. This was the first mission to this destination for Ariane 6 and the farthest the rocket has flown so far. ESA manages the Ariane 6 development programme, ensuring autonomous access to space for the benefit of European citizens. Arianespace was the launch service provider for flight VA270.

Credits: ESA/CNES/ArianeGroup/Arianespace​
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Flyaway said:
You know very well what I meant so don’t stick up your straw man.
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Just because I happen to live as a German expat in a country on another continent (who BTW has to pay taxes without being able to vote - so much for the slogan "no taxation without representation") does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that I identify with any, let alone all, politics of my host nation that I have no control of or influence over - but I sure do like the palm dotted California Pacific beaches...
 
martinbayer said:
Just because I happen to live as a German expat in a country on another continent (who BTW has to pay taxes without being able to vote - so much for the slogan "no taxation without representation") does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that I identify with any, let alone all, politics of my host nation that I have no control of or influence over - but I sure do like the palm dotted California Pacific beaches...
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Sir, this thread will soon be more about you trying to make repetitive humour (you're in California, but you're still German, obviously) , your life and opinions than about European Space News.
Maybe it's time to rename the thread :
The Happy German in California Stand Up Show
Sehr gute Qualität Smart Ass comment after each European Space news post.
24h/24h, 10$ adults, free for childrens.
Soon at the Flamingo in Las Vegas.​


...Sorry couldn't help myself, I like humour too. As an amateur of course, nothing professional. Doing my best.
 
galgot said:
Sir, this thread will soon be more about you trying to make repetitive humour (you're in California, but you're still German, obviously) , your life and opinions than about European Space News.
Maybe it's time to rename the thread :
The Happy German in California Stand Up Show
Sehr gute Qualität Smart Ass comment after each European Space news post.
24h/24h, 10$ adults, free for childrens.
Soon at the Flamingo in Las Vegas.​


...Sorry couldn't help myself, I like humour too. As an amateur of course, nothing professional. Doing my best.
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Not everyone reads every thread, and I don't consider myself exactly as a household name, so I prefer to err on the side of caution/redundancy and provide what I consider relevant personal background information on a case by case basis so my posts in every topic can be understood on a standalone basis - YMMV, of course. Hope this helps.
 
More to the above.

First contracts kick off European Launcher Challenge

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A new chapter for European launchers

We have signed the first European Launcher Challenge contracts, helping emerging launch providers scale up their capabilities and expand Europe’s access to space.

These contracts will help increase resilience and competitiveness in Europe's independent access to space.
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PLD's new Miura 9 —> https://www.pldspace.com/en/miura-9.html

Overview
MIURA 9 is PLD Space’s next-generation reusable, two-stage rocket solution, engineered to reliably and safely deliver medium-class payloads and constellations into orbit.
Height42 m
Diameter3 m
Stages2
Number of Engines9 TEPREL engines 1st Stage/ 1 TEPREL Vacuum engines 2nd Stage
PerformanceUp to 1,500 kg to 500 km SSO
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https://europeanspaceflight.com/aer...space-secure-e5-4-billion-in-iris2-contracts/

Aerospacelab and Thales Alenia Space have secured IRIS2 contracts expected to total more than €5.4 billion, covering satellite platforms and communications payloads for the European Union’s secure communications constellation. While the company didn’t disclose the contract value, Airbus has been selected to build and integrate the first 66 satellites in the constellation’s low Earth orbit component
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https://europeanspaceflight.com/esa...company-a-e760m-space-station-cargo-contract/

The European Space Agency has awarded The Exploration Company a €760 million contract under the second phase of its European cargo return programme, covering an initial demonstration of its Nyx spacecraft and options for two additional flights.
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