News ESA's Future: The News and Updates Thread

[Notebook]

ESA - Origami antenna springs up for small satellites

Looks like they used the tuna-can lid as well.

 

[cannon_gray]

In November 2005, ESA opened a new stage in the exploration of our neighbor in the solar system, launching the Venera-Express spacecraft to Venus, intended for remote exploration of the planet. The main task of the new expedition to the "morning star" is a detailed study of the atmosphere, cloud layer and surface, as well as outer space near the planet. Since ancient times, the planet Venus, the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, has attracted the attention of both ordinary people and astronomers.

 

[Urwumpe]

The German aerospace center did some high-speed wind tunnel tests for the RETALT project, doing 170 test runs of a Falcon 9 like configuration:

#Aerodynamics – Wind Tunnel Tests

Over 170 runs… Now you will see concrete things ? Don’t miss the movie ? of the wind tunnel tests performed at German Aerospace Center (DLR), as part of the #aerodynamics&nbsp…

www.retalt.eu

Also a few days ago, the new reference configurations of the project had been presented:

#Reference Configurations

This week, get to know the 2 configurations investigated in the RETALT project ! #RETALT #Reusability #H2020 #RetroPropulsion #ResearchAndInnovation #Technologies #VTVL #RETALT1 #RETALT2

www.retalt.eu

 

[N_Molson]

I came across the OP by chance and was quite amazed :

Currently the Ministerial Council press conference is running, with some great news so far, despite the hard start of the council.

Ariane 5 will be improved with the "Ariane 5 Midlife Evolution" AND Ariane 6 will be build. Ariane 6 is planned to launch from 2021-2022 on. But the future launcher program of ESA will still have its budget cut.

The ISS will be supported by ESA even after 2017.

We were optimistic people by then Well Ariane 6 in 2022 isn't completely out of scope AFAIK.

 

[Notebook]

Europe plans sat-nav and telecoms network at the Moon

A satellite constellation would tell astronauts and robots their exact position on the lunar surface.

www.bbc.co.uk

The European Space Agency is proposing a precise navigation system at the Moon, much like the sat-nav technology we have here on Earth.
It would enable spacecraft and astronauts to know exactly where they are when moving around the lunar body and to land with precision.
The initiative, known as Moonlight, would also incorporate a telecommunications function.

 

[N_Molson]

Interesting, since no "lunarstationary" stable orbit for GPS satellites is possible, they'll have to find another way to do it.

 

[Arvil]

Earth GPS sats are at an orbital radius of about 26600 km, not at geostationary. Lunar could be at any altitude as long as 4 are in line of sight for the receivers, and they are out of the way for other traffic.

 

[Owenmck]

I always imagined some sort of satellite constellation, e.g. starlink launched on a falcon heavy. (Don’t know if falcon heavy can take payload to lunar orbit.)
You could have a larger relay at Lagrange point 1, to forward the signals to Earth if the starlink communications degrade too much over 250,000

?

 

[Notebook]

"You wait ages for a mission to Venus and then three come along at once."

Europe will join the space party at Planet Venus

A week after the Americans picked two missions to go to Venus, Europe selects its own project.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Notebook]

Moon contract signals new direction for Europe

The European Space Agency wants more missions to look like the UK's Lunar Pathfinder satellite.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MaxBuzz]

Guiana Space Center Offers Launch Complex Upgrades to Manned Level for Soyuz-MS spacecraft

РОГОЗИН

Полагаю, что в настоящий момент России и Европе важно найти новые сферы и направления для сотрудничества. Одним из таких проектов могло бы стать дооборудование стартового комплекса "Союз" во Французской Гвиане до пилотируемого уровня. Если европейские астронавты хотят иметь возможность...

t.me

 

[Urwumpe]

• Today the European Space Agency and Avio signed a contract for 24-months of development activities aiming at the in-flight demonstration of a reusable upper stage.
• The activities, for a total value of €40 million, will assess and prepare the requirements, the design and the technologies for both the ground and flight segments required for an upper stage demonstrator that in the future could return to Earth and be reused on another flight.
• The contract was signed by the European Space Agency’s Director of Space Transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen and Avio’s Chief Commercial Officer and Launch Services Director Marino Fragnito, at the International Aeronautical Congress in Sydney, Australia.

ESA and Avio sign contract for a reuseable upper stage demonstration mission

This is one part of the proposed roadmap that was presented in this video:

 

[GLS]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1972721217942831178

 

[Buck Rogers]

ESA will pay an Italian company nearly $50 million to design a mini-Starship

Uh? I think there's someone on this forum already working on it?

Project Thread 'Nova HLV'

Dec 27, 2022

Hi folks!

Here at Forum Orbiter Italia, a new humble project has begun: the "Nova" Heavy Launch Vehicle, a family of rockets intended to totally replace the old Neptune, Jarvis and Quasar launchers, that some seasoned orbinauts could maybe recall.

Progetto: NOVA HLV

Il lancio di Artemis 1 è l'occasione per svelare un mio progetto che spero possa contribuire a far smuovere un po' di nuovo l'interesse per Orbiter e per il vol

orbiteritalia.forumotion.com

Nova will start as a classical expendable rocket, with the expectation of a reusable development if we are lucky.

Currently, I'm busy designing the launchpad for the rocket. I'm looking for some technical drawings of the Long March 5 rocket (that has a similar configuration)...

• K_Jameson
• Replies: 208
• Forum: Addon Development

• 

 

[diogom]

Neat

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Satellite_navigation/Galileo_goes_to_the_Moon

"Last year, history was made as a navigation receiver on the Moon determined its position in real time using signals from approximately 410 000 km away. The receiver, called the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), acquired signals from four navigation satellites orbiting Earth: two Galileo satellites and two GPS satellites."

 

[GLS]

(not really ESA, but...)

Begining:

End:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2047455062784348320

 

[dennis.krenz]

ESA and DON’T NOD team up on a journey to the planet Persephone in Aphelion

The European Space Agency (ESA) has partnered with French video game studio DON’T NOD Entertainment on the development of Aphelion, a narrative science‑fiction game inspired by space exploration and scientic expertise.