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☆ Star-filled Euclid images spur mission to probe 'dark universe'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

PARIS, Nov 7 (Reuters) - European astronomers on Tuesday released the first images from the newly launched Euclid space telescope, designed to unlock the secrets of dark matter and dark energy - hidden forces thought to make up 95% of the universe. Scientists believe vast, seemingly organised structures such as Perseus could only have formed if dark matter exists. "The rest of the universe we call dark because it doesn't produce light in the normal electromagnetic spectrum. Tell-tale signs of the hidden force exerted by dark matter include galaxies rotating more quickly than scientists would expect from the amount of visible matter that can be detected. We think there's lots of dark matter in that cluster and pulling these galaxies together," she added.

Persons: Carole Mundell, Mundell, Euclid, we've, Europe's, NASA's James Webb, You'll, Tim Hepher, Steve Gorman, Alex Richardson Organizations: European Space Agency, NASA, Reuters, Hubble, ESA, SpaceX, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, Thomson Locations: Darmstadt, Germany, Spain, Ukraine, Florida, Los Angeles

☆ Europe urged not to repeat tech underdog role ahead of space talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A model of Europe's next-generation space rocket Ariane 6 is pictured at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Lampoldshausen near Heilbronn, Germany, February 26, 2019. France, where manufacturer ArianeGroup is based, wants extra funding to help absorb cost overruns, industry sources said. Sources said last week there had been some progress in unblocking a three-way standoff between Europe's leading launch nations but that ministers still faced sensitive budget talks. Speaking ahead of the Seville meeting, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher declined to comment on the talks but urged Europe not to repeat past mistakes in the technology sector. Europe has carved out a leading role in climate observation, navigation and space science but has not targeted a prime role in human exploration, opting instead for a junior role in projects led by U.S. space agency NASA or until recently Russia.

Persons: Ralph Orlowski, Josef Aschbacher, Aschbacher, we're, Tim Hepher, Robert Birsel Organizations: German Aerospace Center, REUTERS, European Space Agency, ESA, European Union, SpaceX, Ministers, Ariane, Tribune, NASA, U.S . Space Shuttle, Thomson Locations: Lampoldshausen, Heilbronn, Germany, Europe, Spain, Seville, Elon Musk's U.S, Ukraine, France, Italy, United States, Japan, China, U.S, Russia

☆ Italy, France and Germany agree on launches of Ariane 6 and Vega-C
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A worker of Ariane Group stands in front of a Ariane 6 rocket's Vulcain 2.1 engine, prior to the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, in Vernon, France January 12, 2021. Christophe Ena/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Italy, France and Germany on Monday have reached a deal underpinning future launches of the delayed Ariane 6 and Avio's (AVI.MI) smaller Vega-C rockets, Italy's industry minister said. The smaller Vega-C has been grounded since Dec. 22 after a failed launch. Italy has been campaigning for the rocket to be marketed separately from ArianeGroup subsidiary Arianespace, which currently sells and operates all major European launches. The three-way agreement was signed during a European Space Agency (ESA) ministerial meeting in Seville, Spain.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Christophe Ena, Safran, Urso, Arianespace, Josef Aschbacher, Giuseppe Fonte, Cristina Carlevaro, Federico Maccioni, Tim Hepher Organizations: Ariane, Rights, Airbus, Space Agency, ESA, Soyuz, Thomson Locations: Vernon, France, Italy, Germany, Europe, Vega, Milan, Avio, Seville, Spain, Ukraine

☆ Russian module on International Space Station suffers coolant leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Nauka (Science) Multipurpose Laboratory Module is seen docked to the International Space Station (ISS) next to next to Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on July 29, 2021. Oleg Novitskiy/Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 9 (Reuters) - Russia's space agency said on Monday that its multipurpose Nauka module attached to the International Space Station suffered a leak of a backup cooling system used to regulate onboard temperatures for astronauts. The crew and the station "are not in danger" as astronauts assess the leak, Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said in a statement posted on Telegram. "There's a leak coming from the radiator on MLM," replied NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, referring to the Nauka module on the station's Russian segment. American Loral O'Hara and Russians Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub arrived via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft last month.

Persons: Oleg Novitskiy, Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara, Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai, Joey Roulette, Leslie Adler, Sandra Maler Organizations: Module, International Space, Soyuz, REUTERS, Russian Progress, NASA, Russia's Soyuz, SpaceX, Russian Soyuz, Thomson Locations: Handout, Russian, Russia, Houston, U.S, Nauka, Denmark, Japan, Ukraine

☆ Spain's PLD Space launches private reusable rocket in milestone for Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Aislinn Laing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MADRID, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Spanish company PLD Space launched its reusable Miura-1 rocket early on Saturday from a site in southwestern Spain, carrying out Europe's first fully private rocket launch and offering hope for the continent's stalled space ambitions. The Miura-1 rocket, named after a breed of fighting bulls, is as tall as a three-storey building and has a 100-kg (220-pound) cargo capacity. A first attempt to launch the Miura-1 rocket in May was abandoned due to strong high-altitude winds. Competitors lining up to join the race to launch small payloads include companies in Scotland, Sweden and Germany. In July, the last launch of Europe's largest rocket, the premier Ariane 5 space launcher, took place at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Persons: Miura, Italy's Vega, Vega, Aislinn Laing, David Alire Garcia, Valentine Hilaire, Will Dunham Organizations: Space, Virgin Orbit, Boeing, Competitors, Ariane, European Space Agency, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spanish, Spain, Huelva, Britain, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Kourou, French Guiana, Europe, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Spain's PLD Space Counts Down to Test Rocket Launch From Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish startup PLD Space will attempt a test launch of its reusable Miura-1 rocket early on Saturday, spearheading a new generation of 'microlaunchers' after an aborted attempt in June. "The day has arrived," Raul Torres, PLD Space chief executive and co-founder of PLD Space, wrote on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter. Europe's efforts to develop capabilities to send small satellites into space are in focus after a failed orbital rocket launch by Virgin Orbit from Britain in January. PLD Space's Miura-1 rocket, named after a breed of fighting bulls, is as tall as a three-storey building and has a 100-kg (220-pound) cargo capacity. Competitors lining up to join the race to launch small payloads include companies in Scotland, Sweden and Germany.

Persons: Raul Torres, Space's Miura, Italy's Vega, Vega, Emma Pinedo, Tim Hepher, Tim Hepther, Aislinn Laing, Edmund Blair Organizations: Spanish, Space, Twitter, Virgin Orbit, Boeing, Ariane, European Space Agency Locations: MADRID, Huelva, Spain, Britain, Europe, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Kourou, French Guiana

☆ Spain's PLD Space counts down to test rocket launch from Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PLD Space/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Spanish startup PLD Space will attempt a test launch of its reusable Miura-1 rocket early on Saturday, spearheading a new generation of 'microlaunchers' after an aborted attempt in June. The rocket is due to lift off on its suborbital test mission at 2 a.m Spanish time on Saturday (0000 GMT) from Huelva in southwest Spain, marking what its designers say will be Europe's first fully private rocket launch. "The day has arrived," Raul Torres, PLD Space chief executive and co-founder of PLD Space, wrote on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter. Europe's efforts to develop capabilities to send small satellites into space are in focus after a failed orbital rocket launch by Virgin Orbit from Britain in January. In July, the last launch of Europe's largest rocket, the premier Ariane 5 space launcher, took place at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Persons: Raul Torres, Space's Miura, Italy's Vega, Vega, Emma Pinedo, Tim Hepher, Tim Hepther, Aislinn Laing, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Spanish, Space, Twitter, Virgin Orbit, Boeing, Ariane, European Space Agency, Thomson Locations: El, Huelva, Spain, Rights MADRID, Britain, Europe, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Kourou, French Guiana

☆ Russia's Luna-25 moon-lander spun out of control and crashed, fumbling an attempt to become the first country to land on the lunar south pole. India is up next.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon's surface, ending its mission. The country was racing India to be the first country to land a spacecraft on the lunar's south pole. The moon's south pole likely contains frozen water that could be used to produce air and rocket fuel. The Luna-25 was in a race with an Indian spacecraft launched on July 14 to be the first to reach the south pole. A previous Indian attempt to land at the south pole in 2019 ended when the spacecraft crashed into the moon's surface.

Persons: Russia's Luna, Roscosmos, Luna, Vitaly Egorov, Russia's, cosmonautics, Egorov, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, Russia's Soyuz, Space Corporation, Luna, Soviet Union, NASA, Vostochny Locations: India, Wall, Silicon, Indian, Russian, Soviet, Soviet Union, United States, China, Russia, Roscosmos, Ukraine, Russia's Far

☆ China may launch next-generation crewed spacecraft as early as 2027
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 18 (Reuters) - China's next-generation crewed spacecraft, which can transport up to seven astronauts, may fly for the first time between 2027 and 2028, a veteran Chinese astronaut said. Recent tests on the return capsule of the next-generation spacecraft have been "very successful", with their first flights estimated to take place between 2027 and 2028, said Yang, currently deputy chief designer of China's manned spaceflight project. The next-generation spacecraft was first tested in 2020. China's current Shenzhou spacecraft, based on Russia's Soyuz, can transport up to three astronauts to low-Earth orbit. The return module's high heat resistance also allows much of it to be re-used.

Persons: China's, Yang Liwei, Yang, Zhang Bainan, Ryan Woo, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Guangzhou

☆ Investing in Space: Here are the rockets chasing to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

SpaceXCNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Overview: Chasing the FalconNo rocket has been better-described as a "workhorse" than SpaceX's Falcon 9. Aside from Blue Origin's New Glenn, the early theme is rockets that are close to the capability of Falcon 9 and less expensive. – CNBC, which the lawsuit says were used for NASA projects including the International Space Station and the Space Launch Systems rocket. – Firefly Aerospace: The rocket builder says the deal will bolster its launch, spacecraft, and lunar lander businesses.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Phil Smith, SpaceX's, Glenn, Smith, –, Smith doesn't, CNBC ULA, Tory Bruno, Jeff Bezos, ULA, – Read, Shepard, Bob Smith, Jim Free, Artemis, HawkEye, – Hydrosat, Leonardo DiCaprio, – Momentus, Westinghouse EchoStar's Hughes, – EchoStar, Iris Lan, Sumara Thompson, King, Lan, – NASA Celeste Ford, Ford, – SpiderOak Melissa Quinn, Quinn Organizations: SpaceX CNBC's, SpaceX, Falcon, Boeing, NASA, CNBC, CNBC Department of Defense, Ukraine, Starlink, Pentagon, –, Space Station, Systems, CNBC SpaceX, Cargo, International Space, FAA, Intelsat, Japan Airlines, Embraer, – Intelsat, Rocket, ONE, Washington, Spaceflight, Aerospace, Aerospace Spacecraft, York, MaC Venture Capital, Broom Ventures, Veto, TechCrunch Viasat, Air Force, Viasat, Westinghouse, U.S . Department of Justice, – NASA, Ford, Stellar Solutions Locations: Florida, China, Russia, Colorado, Ukrainian, Bellevue , Washington, Cortado, Cornwall

☆ 14 big moments in the history of Elon Musk's SpaceX — from nearly going bankrupt in 2008 to the fiery Starship explosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Grace Kay | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk was inspired to start building his own rockets in 2001 after a Russian rocket designer spat on his shoes. Elon Musk at his desk in 2004. At the time, Musk was visiting Russia in order to negotiate a deal to buy space rockets for a future mission to Mars. SpaceX cofounder Jim Cantrell also recalled the incident in a Channel 4 documentary that aired in May and in a biography on Musk by Ashlee Vance, "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future." Sources: Insider, "Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age," "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future."

☆ A close Russian ally is messing with the legendary spaceport it leases to the Kremlin, seizing assets over an unpaid debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Baikonur is a source of pride for Moscow, from which the Soviet Union sent the first man to space. Baikonur is pivotal to the Russian space program. Even though it isn't physically in Russia, it has been leased by the Kremlin since Kazakhstan became independent when the Soviet Union collapsed. Founded by the Soviet Union as a test range for intercontinental ballistic missiles, it was transformed into a space port in 1955. It remains a key part of Russia's space program, and is the only site where Russia launches missions to the International Space Station.

☆ OneWeb 'moves on' from Soyuz-stranded satellites as its network nears completion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dmitry Rogozin said at the time that his agency wanted OneWeb to provide guarantees that its satellites were not going to be used against Russia. But it has been unable to retrieve the satellites from their Soyuz launchsite at the Russia-owned Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellites are worth a combined $50 million, OneWeb chief executive Neil Masterson said Tuesday. OneWeb, which manufactures at least two satellites per day, had another batch of 36 satellites ready for launch soon after cancelling Soyuz, Masterson said. Asked if Russia's custody of the commercially sensitive technology raises security or competitive concerns for OneWeb, Masterson said: "It's not a material problem."

☆ SpaceX capsule returns crew of four from space station mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Four crew members aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashed down off Florida's Gulf coast on Saturday, returning safely from a five-month science mission on the International Space Station. The Crew-5 team launched from Florida on Oct. 6 to conduct routine science aboard the station. The mission was SpaceX's sixth crewed flight for NASA since its Crew Dragon spacecraft first flew humans in May 2020, when it restored crewed launches from American soil after nearly a decade of U.S. dependence on Russia's Soyuz program for space station flights. Kikina, the only woman in Russia's cosmonaut corps, was the first Russian to fly on an American spacecraft under a renewed agreement signed in 2022 between NASA and Russia's space agency to conduct joint flights. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, currently on the station, launched there on a Soyuz rocket in September.

☆ SpaceX raising $750 million at a $137 billion valuation, investors include Andreessen-Horowitz
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's re-usable rocket maker and satellite internet company, SpaceX, is raising $750 million in a new round of funding that values the company at $137 billion, according to correspondence obtained by CNBC. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX was allowing insiders to sell at $77 per share, which would have put the company's valuation near $140 billion. The company raised more than $2 billion in 2022, including a $250 million round in July, and was valued at $127 billion during an equity round in May, CNBC previously reported. According to an e-mail sent to prospective SpaceX investors, Andreessen Horowitz (also known as a16z) will likely lead the new funding round. A16z also participated in Elon Musk's leveraged buyout of Twitter, a $44 billion deal that closed in late October 2022.

☆ SpaceX history: 13 of the biggest moments for Elon Musk's 20-year-old company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Grace Kay | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

ROME/PARIS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Italy's Vega rockets have been grounded and an investigation is under way after the latest model failed on its second mission, destroying two Earth-imaging satellites and further complicating Europe's access to space on top of the war in Ukraine. A spokesperson for Arianespace said both the Vega C and its Vega predecessor had been grounded pending the findings of an investigative commission co-chaired by technical officials from the European Space Agency and Arianespace itself. Italy's Vega C rocket is due to play an increasingly crucial role in Europe's access to space after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine forced Arianespace to stop using Russian Soyuz vehicles. But Arianespace has been forced to scrap plans to announce a Vega C launch schedule for 2023 in coming weeks. Analysts said only a few operational alternatives to Vega C exist, such as potential rideshares aboard U.S.-based SpaceX's bigger Falcon 9 or Firefly Aerospace's new Alpha launcher, which can loft roughly half the payload weight of Vega C.Other options, though somewhat larger than Vega C, include rockets from Japan and India.

☆ Europe's space agency is turning to Elon Musk's SpaceX after anti-Russian sanctions left it scrambling for rockets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets will be used in two launches by the European Space Agency. The agency's boss has previously warned that the rest of the world's space tech is falling behind SpaceX. "In response to EU sanctions against our enterprises, Roscosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners in organizing space launches," it announced at the time. The ESA's choice of SpaceX rockets comes soon after a payment dispute over Musk's Starlink service in Ukraine, which has provided key internet access during the war while normal infrastructure has been offline. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on the ESA's use of Falcon 9 rockets.

☆ SpaceX to take entrepreneur Dennis Tito on Starship around the moon
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX said on Wednesday that the world's first space tourist Dennis Tito and his wife Akiko have signed up to fly around the moon on the space exploration firm's Starship rocket. The SpaceX flight's roughly week-long journey will see the rocket travel within 200 kilometers of the moon without landing on its surface. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterTito and his wife are the first crewmembers to be announced for Starship's second commercial spaceflight around the moon. SpaceX has not announced a date for the launch of Starship, the focus of Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Musk's ambition to ferry humans and cargo to the moon and Mars. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ See how NASA's new lunar mega-rocket sizes up to past and future astronaut launch systems
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Space Launch System (SLS) is 17 years and an estimated $50 billion in the making. The Space Launch System (SLS) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 17, 2022. This first mission, called Artemis I, is a test flight that will carry no astronauts. The current iteration of SLS, called Block 1, stands taller than the Statue of Liberty at 322 feet, about 30 stories. NASA/Cory HustonIf Artemis I goes well, the next SLS mission will send an Orion spaceship around the moon with astronauts on board.

☆ SpaceX will fly Russian cosmonauts to the ISS under new NASA deal with Russia's space agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-18 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

NASA's deal with Roscosmos means SpaceX will launch Russian cosmonauts to the ISS this year. In September, Anna Kikina will be the first Russian to launch on SpaceX's Crew Dragon, per Reuters. Meanwhile, US astronaut Frank Rubio will fly from Russia's Cosmodrome launch site, NASA told Reuters. In exchange, cosmonaut Anna Kikina will launch on SpaceX's Crew Dragon from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said. Not long after the deal was announced, Russian President Vladimir Putin fired Dmitry Rogozin as Russia's space chief, the Kremlin announced on Friday.

☆ NASA, Russian space agency sign deal to share space station flights - Roscosmos
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe SkipperJuly 15 (Reuters) - NASA and Russia's space agency Roscosmos have signed a long-sought agreement to integrate flights to the International Space Station, allowing Russian cosmonauts to fly on U.S.-made spacecraft in exchange for American astronauts being able to ride on Russia's Soyuz, the agencies said Friday. The two agencies had previously shared astronaut seats on the U.S. shuttle and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The U.S. space agency has said having at least one Russian and one American aboard the space station is crucial to keeping the laboratory running. "Flying integrated crews ensures there are appropriately trained crew members on board the station for essential maintenance and spacewalks," NASA said in a statement on Friday.

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