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The animation shows the full launch sequence for the first Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I1) satellite. MTG-I1 launches on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

MTG-I1 is the first of six satellites that form the full MTG system, which will provide critical data for weather forecasting over the next 20 years. In full operations, the mission will comprise two MTG-I satellites and one MTG Sounding (MTG-S) satellites working in tandem.

The MTG-I satellites carry two completely new instruments, a Flexible Combined Imager and Europe’s first Lightning Imager, to deliver high-quality data for better weather

Washington (AFP) Dec 12, 2022
NASA's Orion space capsule splashed down safely in the Pacific on Sunday, completing the Artemis 1 mission - a more than 25-day journey around the Moon with an eye to returning humans there in just a few years. After racing through the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers) per hour, the uncrewed capsule floated down to the sea with the help of three large orange

Washington DC (SPX) Dec 11, 2022
When Artemis I launched on Wednesday, Nov. 16, NASA's new mega Moon rocket carried the Orion spacecraft?- uncrewed, for now - into orbit for the first time, and a new era of lunar exploration began. It's a big moment for NASA and the world. And, yet, one of the people whose work will be tested at the next crucial step - bringing Orion home safely - isn't nervous at all. Jeremy Vander Kam i

Beijing (XNA) Dec 12, 2022
The Smart Dragon 3, a new solid-propellant carrier rocket, made its maiden flight on Friday afternoon, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the country's leading space contractor. The rocket blasted off at 2:35 pm from a ship in the Yellow Sea and launched 14 satellites into orbit during its flight, the State-owned conglomerate said in a news release. The

Heidelberg, Germany (SPX) Dec 12, 2022
According to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, space and time are inextricably connected. In our Universe, whose curvature is barely measurable, the structure of this spacetime is fixed. In a laboratory experiment, researchers from Heidelberg University have succeeded in realising an effective spacetime that can be manipulated. In their research on ultracold quantum gases, they were able to

Beijing (XNA) Dec 12, 2022
The vast space between billions of stars in the Milky Way is not empty, but filled with thin interstellar medium. Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), or the "China Sky Eye," Chinese scientists revealed the unprecedented details of the Galactic interstellar medium. Led by Han Jinlin, a scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories of China,

Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Dec 12, 2022
Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIDU), a Space-as-a-Service company focused on mission critical hardware manufacturing combined with commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection, recently signed an agreement with Exolaunch to use their CarboNIX separation system to deploy LizzieSatTM satellites during the LizzieSat rideshare missions with SpaceX in 2023 and 2024. This agreemen

Boston MA (SPX) Dec 12, 2022
In May 2022, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Transporter-5 mission into orbit. The mission contained a collection of micro and nanosatellites from both industry and government, including one from MIT Lincoln Laboratory called the Agile MicroSat (AMS). AMS's primary mission is to test automated maneuvering capabilities in the tumultuous very low-Earth orbit (VLEO) environment, startin

Bloomington IN (SPX) Dec 12, 2022
The International Space Station is no longer the only place where humans can live in orbit. On Nov. 29, 2022, the Shenzhou 15 mission launched from China's Gobi Desert carrying three taikonauts - the Chinese word for astronauts. Six hours later, they reached their destination, China's recently completed space station, called Tiangong, which means "heavenly palace" in Mandarin. The three ta

On 13 December, the first of a new generation of satellites designed to revolutionise weather forecasting in Europe will take to the skies. ESA and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat) invite you to follow the live coverage for the launch of the first Meteosat Third Generation satellite starting from 19:40 CET on ESA Web TV.