The European Space Agency’s first Scout mission, HydroGNSS, was launched today, 28 November, marking a significant step in advancing global understanding of water availability and the effects of climate change on Earth’s water cycle.

The two twin HydroGNSS satellites were carried into orbit at 19:44 CET aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as part of the Transporter-15 rideshare flight from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

ESA’s first Scout mission, HydroGNSS, was launched on 28 November 2025, marking a significant step in advancing global understanding of water availability and the effects of climate change on Earth’s water cycle.

The two twin HydroGNSS satellites were carried into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US.

Embracing the New Space concept, HydroGNSS is one of ESA’s new Scout missions being developed within the Earth Observation FutureEO programme.

ESA’s first Scout mission, HydroGNSS, was launched on 28 November 2025, marking a significant step in advancing global understanding of water availability and the effects of climate change on Earth’s water cycle.

The two twin HydroGNSS satellites were carried into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US.

Embracing the New Space concept, HydroGNSS is one of ESA’s new Scout missions being developed within the Earth Observation FutureEO programme.

The ESA Council at Ministerial Level (CM25) delivered a record-breaking €22.1 billion in commitments from Member States. This is a historic achievement and a clear signal of trust in ESA’s ability to deliver success through expertise and innovation.  

ESA’s first Scout mission, HydroGNSS, was launched on 28 November 2025, marking a significant step in advancing global understanding of water availability and the effects of climate change on Earth’s water cycle.

The two twin HydroGNSS satellites were carried into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US.

Embracing the New Space concept, HydroGNSS is one of ESA’s new Scout missions being developed within the Earth Observation FutureEO programme.

On 17 December, two Galileo satellites will be launched on Ariane 6 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in the 14th operational launch of the Galileo programme. These satellites will improve the precision, availability and robustness of the Galileo system by adding spares to guarantee the system can always provide a navigation signal for users worldwide. This will be Galileo’s first launch on Ariane 6 and the fifth launch of Europe’s heavy-lift launcher.

Week in images: 24-28 November 2025

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