Happy launch anniversary, Columbus! 🥳
18 years ago today, @esa.int's Columbus laboratory ascended to orbit, nestled in Space Shuttle Atlantis.
This engineering & scientific marvel became the first permanent European research facility in space.
102 000 + orbits later: www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
Silver is back with a blog post on the new orbital mechanics. It’s a bit technical, but it provides a glimpse into the deeper workings of Orbital Dawn.
orbitaldawn.com/posts/2026-1...
An orbital simulation is coming to Orbital Dawn! This will enable delta-V calculations and realistic timetables for spacecraft transit time.
Development is getting back on track! Currently working on power production and consumption. Next task will be revisiting supply usage and contingency plans in case supplies are depleted.
🛰️ Preparing for liftoff – the next Galileo satellites have been mounted to their Ariane 6 dispenser that will eject them from the rocket's upper stage into their initial orbit around Earth.
www.esa.int/Applications...
Congratulations to Blue Origin for a successful launch and booster recovery! Excited to see the ESCAPADE mission unfold as well.
Blue Origin are live with the second attempt to launch ESCAPADE to Mars, and maybe land the New Glenn booster.
www.blueorigin.com/missions/ng-2
Illustration of Juice flying back Earth and the Moon.
A #CosmicVision mission, #ESAJuice is en route to Jupiter.
Juice successfully performed the world's first Lunar-Earth flyby in 2024, followed by a Venus flyby this year. The spacecraft is now on track to swing by Earth two more times and arrive at Jupiter in July 2031. 1/ #CM25
Exactly 25 years ago, at 09:21 UTC, the era of continuous human presence on the International @Space_Station began.
Since Crew One took up residence in 2000, 21 @esa.int astronauts have lived and worked on this orbital outpost, conducting essential research to benefit life on Earth.
Exciting to see another Ariane 6 launch soon!
Close-up of NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Artemis II, showing NASA and ESA logos. Several hoses and cables are connected to the spacecraft, and part of the transport vehicle is visible.
Wide view of the Orion spacecraft for Artemis II being transported near a large industrial building with bright interior lighting. The grassy foreground contrasts with the industrial setting, and various vehicles and equipment are visible under a partly cloudy sky.
Orion on a roll 🌀
Last week, the Artemis II Orion - complete with crew module 👩🚀, @esa.int's European Service Module ⚡, solar arrays ☀️ + launch abort system 🛡️ - was rolled 10km to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Next step - stacking on the SLS rocket 🚀
📸: ESA-M. Born
🆕 Researchers combed through images from ESA's #MarsExpress and #ExoMars spacecraft to find 1039 swirling dust devils 🌪️
Using these dust devils to track raging winds on Mars, their findings include that the strongest winds blow much faster than we thought!🧪🔭
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
Today, @esa.int's Columbus lab on the International Space Station circled Earth for the 100,000th time🎉
During that time, we’ve seen:
🧳4.26 billion km travelled
🧪250+ experiments
👩🚀16 ESA astronauts
🥼75 m³ of lab space
🕣19,280 shifts run by the Columbus Control Centre
🔗 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
A blue and black sky filled with brilliant stars covers the upper two-thirds of the vertical image. The stars are different sizes and shades of white, beige, yellow, and pale orange. Across the bottom third of the scene is a craggy, mountain-like vista of dust and gas with spire-like peaks and deep, misty valleys. The peaks appear in varying shades of orange, yellow, and brown. Above their soaring spires is a wispy, ethereal white cloud that stretches horizontally across the scene. What looks like steam appears to rise from the mountaintops and joins this cloud. At the top right corner, a swath of orange and brown structure cuts diagonally across the sky.
What appears to be a craggy, starlit mountaintop kissed by wispy clouds is actually a cosmic dust-scape being eaten away by the blistering winds and ultraviolet light of nearby, massive, infant stars. What else did #NASAWebb find in Pismis 24? https://bit.ly/4mr3cmt
We welcome #JAXA's interest in participating in the Ramses mission to the asteroid #Apophis, which will make a safe but exceptionally rare and scientifically valuable flyby of Earth in April 2029.
Liftoff of Ariane 6 flight #VA264 launching Metop-SG-A1 and Copernicus Sentinel-5A to orbit!
View of Ariane 6 from its mobile hangar.
🚀 Next launch incoming...
Join us live tonight (or early morning) for the next Ariane 6 flight #VA264 that will launch Metop-SG-A1 and Copernicus Sentinel-5 into orbit from 01:10 BST/02:10 CEST on esawebtv.esa.int
📅 Liftoff schedule at 01:37 BST/02:37 CEST.
🔗 www.esa.int/Applications...
The Rosetta mission found that the comet’s water was more rich in heavy water than Earth’s oceans, suggesting that Earth’s water was not deposited by comet impacts.
Today is the 11th anniversary of the Rosetta spacecraft entering orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta and its lander Philae greatly expanded our knowledge of comets and of the origin of water on Earth.
Space Shuttle Atlantis carrying the Raffaello MPLM to ISS on STS-135. Image c/o NASA
All four Dragon crew members have now entered the International Space Station. A formal welcome ceremony is planned in about one hour. Watch live: youtube.com/live/nSm9UW7...
Midnight update: A new "remastered" version of the Orrery music is available on YouTube and Bandcamp. A stunning new soundscape invokes the serenity and wonder of outer space.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_wF...
Aaaaand that’s a scrub. See you again tomorrow!
SpaceX Crew-11 launches in 10 minutes!
A screenshot from Orbital Dawn showing off two heavy launch rockets.
Meet Startrain and Startrain Express, the heavy launch system for taking crew to the Moon, Tiris and beyond! How far would you like to go?
A long, smoky, greyish-blue cloud in the centre of the image curves in an arc around three bright stars, each with long cross-shaped diffraction spikes. The cloud is lit more brightly on the inner side facing the stars, and fades into the dark background on the outer side. A few other stars and points of light surround the cloud: one small star below it has a dark band crossing its centre.
📷 This NASA/ESA #Hubble Space Telescope image shows reflection nebula GN 04.32.8. Reflection nebulae are clouds of dust that don't emit their own light, as other nebulae do. Instead, light from nearby stars scatters off their dust, lighting them up.
🔗 esahubble.org/images/potw2... @stsci.edu
Artist's impression of MetOp-SG flying over Earth.
We cannot catch a break this summer 🥵
After a successful launch last week, we're getting ready for another one in two weeks!
Ariane 6 will take Metop-SG-A1 and Copernicus Sentinel-5A to orbit on 13 August at 01:37 BST, 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 local time).
#VA264
Working hard on updating models... Here's the improved Pisces and Fusion spacecraft, with a new docking port based on the International Docking Adapter.
Today is the 20th anniversary of the launch of STS-114. This was the 31st flight of the Discovery Space Shuttle, and the first Space Shuttle mission since the Columbia disaster. This mission brought the Rafaello MPLM and External Stowage Platform 2 to the ISS.
