NOORDWIJK/NETHERLANDS – The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus have signed a commercial partnership (PPP) agreement for construction, launch and operations of the commercial "Bartolomeo" platform. Airbus' new external payload hosting facility will be attached to the European Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS) from mid-2019. The agreement defines the roles and responsibilities of the two PPP partners, with Airbus investing around €40 million into the … [Read more...] about ESA and Airbus Sign Partnership Agreement
ESA
Airbus launches Sentinel-2B successfully
Kourou - Europe´s Copernicus programme has got its second eye. On Tuesday, 7 March at 02:49 am CET (6 March at 10.49 pm local time), a Vega launcher successfully took off from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the satellite developed and built under the industrial leadership of Airbus for the European Space Agency (ESA). After just over one hour, the solar panel, needed to supply energy, was unfolded and Sentinel-2B successfully reported in ‘for duty’. The 1.1 ton … [Read more...] about Airbus launches Sentinel-2B successfully
Airbus ready to ship Aeolus for final testing
Stevenage - Aeolus, the European Space Agency’s wind sensing satellite, is leaving Stevenage, UK, in the next few days on the first part of its journey to space. It will be shipped to Toulouse, France, for final testing before it travels to French Guiana towards the end of the year ready for launch on a Vega launcher. The 1.7-tonne spacecraft, primed by Airbus Defence and Space, features the LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) instrument called Aladin, which uses the Doppler effect … [Read more...] about Airbus ready to ship Aeolus for final testing
Europe takes off for space
“Europe’s ambitions in space have received another boost and we applaud ESA’s decisions to furtjer develop Europe in space. European citizens will benefit greatly from our new innovative solutions,” said Nicolas Chamussy, Head of Space Systems, on decisions by ministers from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) 22 member states. At their meeting on 1-2 December in Lucerne, Switzerland, the ESA Ministerial Council committed to invest a total of € 10.3 billion in space activities for the … [Read more...] about Europe takes off for space
Airbus aids ExoMars 2016
Airbus Defence and Space, the world’s number two in space technology, has designed and built two heat shields which will enable the Schiaparelli capsule of the ExoMars 2016 mission to withstand its descent through the Martian atmosphere and land on the Red Planet later this year. The lander module was launched on 14 March from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with a Trace Gas Orbiter that will look for trace gases while in orbit around Mars. … [Read more...] about Airbus aids ExoMars 2016
Airbus Defence and Space signs contract with Eutelsat and ESA
Airbus Defence and Space has signed the first contract for the fully reconfigurable Quantum satellite with Eutelsat and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Quantum satellite will be operated and commercialised by Eutelsat and will be able to adapt to new demands in coverage, bandwidth, power, frequency configurability and even change its orbital position. Quantum will be the first generation of universal satellites able to serve any region of the world and adjust to new business without the … [Read more...] about Airbus Defence and Space signs contract with Eutelsat and ESA