News archive

News archive

The long, complex process required to elongate the orbits of the first twoCluster spacecraft has begun.The Cluster mission control centre at the European Space Operations Centre(ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, has confirmed that the apogee raising manoeuvre #1was completed successfully early this afternoon.
Published: 17 July 2000
At 18.39 local time (14.39 CEST) today, the steppes of Kazakhstan reverberated with the roar of rocket engines as a Soyuz-Fregat launch vehicle lifted off from pad 6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome with its precious payload of two Cluster satellites."We have lift off!" came the confirmation on the public address system.
Published: 16 July 2000
ESA Press Release N0 49-2000 - Paris, 16 July 2000The European Space Agency's Cluster II mission to explore the magnetosphere is now under way after today's successful launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Published: 16 July 2000
The winner of ESA's "Name The Cluster Quartet" competition was announced yesterday, during a special media event at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.
Published: 16 July 2000
Update 16 July 10:50 The State Commission has given the final go-ahead for launch today.The launch of the first pair of ESA's Cluster II spacecraft has been postponed due to an anomaly detected between the ground system and the Soyuz launch vehicle. A State Commission, the official body that authorises the launch, was convened to validate the source of the problem and confirmed that both the Cluster II spacecraft and the Soyuz launch, including the Fregat upper stage, are in nominal configuration. The launch is rescheduled to take place tomorrow, 16 July, at 12:39 GMT (14:39 CEST). The launch will as usual be confirmed by a State Commission which will meet 4 hours before liftoff.
Published: 15 July 2000
10.00 CEST Last night, highly energetic particles from one of the largest solar flares on record struckthe Earth's magnetosphere and triggered an intense radiation storm in the vicinity ofEarth.
Published: 15 July 2000
Even a Belgian mineral water 'SPA' has contributed to the lively discussions at the Noordwijk lunar conference. "No need to search for water in the South Pole Aitken basin, when we already have it here!" joked one participant.
Published: 14 July 2000
Over 100 members of staff gathered in the conference room at the EuropeanSpace Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, this afternoon tohear the latest status reports on the readiness of the Cluster groundsegment.
Published: 14 July 2000
Day 3 of the ICEUM conferenceThey bear evocative names: 'Lunar-A', 'Selene', 'MoonRaker', 'LunarSat' or 'IceBreaker'. Together they illustrate the enormous attraction of Earth's natural satellite. After SMART-1, all these lunar projects were presented on the third day of 4th International Conference on Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon (ICEUM4).
Published: 13 July 2000
One interesting addition to the Cluster spacecraft's payload of 11 state-of-the-art scientific instruments is a digital camera known as the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC).
Published: 13 July 2000
The scientific quest to better understand Earth's natural satellite, its composition and its evolution in a wider planetary context was at the centre of the second day of the 4th International Conference on Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon (ICEUM4). "The Moon is a laboratory, just waiting for us to move in!" exclaimed one lunar geologist eager to obtain more data on the formation of impact craters.
Published: 12 July 2000
The launch of the first pair of Cluster II spacecraft was given the final go-ahead on 11 July in a series of reviews to assess the readiness status of all components.
Published: 12 July 2000
Opening proceedings and greeting the many young people present this week in Noordwijk, Bernard Foing, President of the inter-agency International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) nicely set the tone of the event. His call reflected the long- term ambitions of many of those attending the 4th International Conference on Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon (ICEUM4): the pursuit of lunar exploration in all its forms.
Published: 11 July 2000
ESA's infrared space telescope has once again detected a new molecule in the 'chemistry labs' of the Universe, the clouds of gas and dust in the space amid the stars. The newly-detected molecule is the methyl radicalCH3, a so-called 'free-radical' whose existence in the gas in space had been predicted by Nobel winner Gerhard Herzberg, who died last year. ISO has already made the first detections in space of at least ten newmolecules in the gas and solid-state phases. According to the authors --from Germany, the Netherlands and Australia--, CH3 is one of the most important tracers for the formation of complex carbon-based molecules.
Published: 10 July 2000
Only a few days remain before the start of the European Space Agency's Cluster II mission, a unique expedition to explore the magnetosphere and revolutionise our understanding of the interaction between the Sun and Earth.
Published: 3 July 2000
Exactly 15 years ago today, the European Space Agency's Giotto spacecraft lifted off from Kourou at the start of an epic adventure - a rendezvous with the most famous chunk of dirty ice in the Universe, Halley's Comet.
Published: 3 July 2000
From 10 to 15 July, Noordwijk (NL) will be the "Capital of the Moon" when ESA's establishment ESTEC hosts the 4th International Conference on Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon (ICEUM4). The Moon conference is organised by the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG). "The purpose of the ICEUM4 conference", says Bernard H. Foing, current ILEWG chairman, " is to gather Lunar Explorers (young and old), scientists, engineers, industrial firms and organisations to review recent activities and prepare for the next steps on the Moon".
Published: 30 June 2000
Several of ESA's scientific spacecraft play starring roles in a remarkable new widescreen IMAX movie entitled 'Solarmax', which received its world première at London's Science Museum yesterday.
Published: 29 June 2000
27 months away from launch, the SMART-1 project team and its industrial partners now have their very first full-scale version of Europe's lunar satellite. The main assembly of the mock-up was completed at the facilities of the prime contractor Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) in Solna (near Stockholm) on 12 June.
Published: 29 June 2000
A Symposium was held in ESTEC on 27 June in honour of Martin C.E. Huber, who is retiring as Head of the Space Science Department of ESA. In expressing his thanks to Martin Huber for his services to ESA and to space science, Roger Bonnet, ESA's Director of Science said: " Space Science owes a lot to your fluid leadership, you have been a great friend to all scientists - a remarkable achievement".
Published: 29 June 2000
28-Mar-2024 23:04 UT

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