Europe's Plan to Get Back Into the Rocket Race
Hello, it's Kate Duffy in London. Competition is heating up among European space startups to build the next heavy-lift rocket that could eventually take over from the Ariane 6 and attempt to close the gap with SpaceX. But before we get to that...
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A look at the first artificial solar eclipses created by two European satellites
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A pair of European satellites have created the first artificial solar eclipses by flying in precise and fancy formation, providing hours of on-demand totality for scientists. The European Space Agency released the eclipse pictures at the Paris Air Show on Monday. Launched late last year, the orbiting duo have churned out simulated solar eclipses since March while zooming tens of thousands of miles (kilometers) above Earth. Flying 492 feet (150 meters) apart, one satellite blocks the sun like the moon does during a natural total solar eclipse as the other aims its telescope at the corona, the sun's outer atmosphere that forms a crown or halo of light. It's an intricate, prolonged dance requiring extreme precision by the cube-shaped spacecraft, less than 5 feet (1.5 meters) in size. Their flying accuracy needs to be within a mere millimeter, the thickness of a fingernail. This meticulous positioning is achieved autonomously through GPS navigation, star trackers, lasers and radio links. Dubbed Proba-3, the $210 million mission has generated 10 successful solar eclipses so far during the ongoing checkout phase. The longest eclipse lasted five hours, said the Royal Observatory of Belgium's Andrei Zhukov, the lead scientist for the orbiting corona-observing telescope. He and his team are aiming for a wondrous six hours of totality per eclipse once scientific observations begin in July. Scientists already are thrilled by the preliminary results that show the corona without the need for any special image processing, said Zhukov. "We almost couldn't believe our eyes,' Zhukov said in an email. 'This was the first try, and it worked. It was so incredible.' Zhukov anticipates an average of two solar eclipses per week being produced for a total of nearly 200 during the two-year mission, yielding more than 1,000 hours of totality. That will be a scientific bonanza since full solar eclipses produce just a few minutes of totality when the moon lines up perfectly between Earth and the sun — on average just once every 18 months. The sun continues to mystify scientists, especially its corona, which is hotter than the solar surface. Coronal mass ejections result in billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields being hurled out into space. Geomagnetic storms can result, disrupting power and communication while lighting up the night sky with auroras in unexpected locales. While previous satellites have generated imitation solar eclipses — including the European Space Agency and NASA's Solar Orbiter and Soho observatory — the sun-blocking disk was always on the same spacecraft as the corona-observing telescope. What makes this mission unique, Zhukov said, is that the sun-shrouding disk and telescope are on two different satellites and therefore far apart. The distance between these two satellites will give scientists a better look at the part of the corona closest to the limb of the sun. "We are extremely satisfied by the quality of these images, and again this is really thanks to formation flying' with unprecedented accuracy, ESA's mission manager Damien Galano said from the Paris Air Show. ___ AP journalist John Leicester contributed to this report from Paris. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Is there a rocket launch today? Upcoming liftoff schedule from Vandenberg in California
The first half of June saw three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets soaring over Southern California to deliver Starlink satellites into orbit – and more are likely on the way. In fact, the next Starlink deployment could get off the ground as early as Monday, June 16 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County. If you miss it, don't stress: Californians should likely still have multiple chances to catch a rocket launch in June. SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, could launch a rideshare mission later in June to deliver dozens of small satellites for paying customers, as well as a government satellite-deploying mission. Vandenberg and SpaceX don't typically officially confirm California launches until about a day ahead of time, and the Federal Aviation Administration's operations plan advisory is constantly updating. Still, multiple online websites that track launches suggest that at least another three are so far being targeted for the rest of June from California – likely with more to be added to the schedule throughout the month. It's also important to keep in mind that rocket launches can be – and often are – delayed due to any number of factors, including poor weather conditions or unexpected issues with spacecraft. Make sure to visit VC Star for the latest mission updates. Here's a look at the upcoming June 2025 launch schedule (so far) at Vandenberg Space Force Base. What is the Vandenberg Space Force Base? 4 things to know about California rocket launches Agency: SpaceX Mission: Deploy Starlink V2 mini satellites into low-Earth orbit Rocket: Falcon 9, a 230-foot, two-stage rocket Launch window: 8:36 p.m. PT Monday, June 16 Rocket launch location: Space Launch Complex 4E from Vandenberg Space Force Base Booster landing: SpaceX drone ship, nicknamed "Of Course I Still Love You," in the Pacific Ocean Agency: SpaceX Mission: Dedicated rideshare flight to deliver dozens of small satellites to a sun-synchronous orbit, meaning they will match Earth's rotation around the sun, for paying customers Rocket: Falcon 9, a 230-foot, two-stage rocket Launch window: 2:19 p.m. PT Friday, June 20 Rocket launch location: Space Launch Complex 4E from Vandenberg Space Force Base Booster landing: return to launch site Agency: SpaceX Mission: Deploy a Luxembourg military reconnaissance satellite known as NAOS (National Advanced Optical System) Rocket: Falcon 9, a 230-foot, two-stage rocket Launch window: TBA Rocket launch location: Space Launch Complex 4E from Vandenberg Space Force Base Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Is there a California rocket launch today? Schedule from Vandenberg
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Who will be on the next Blue Origin rocket launch from Texas? Here's a look at the crew
Another six space tourists are preparing for Blue Origin's next human spaceflight, which will send the crew on a quick trip high above Earth's atmosphere. The spaceflight company, which billionaire Jeff Bezos founded in 2000, has announced the names of the people selected as passengers for the next launch of its New Shepard rocket. The spacecraft is the same one that has so far transported more than 60 civilians, including some celebrities, on brief trips to the edge of outer space. In March, a group of famous women that included pop star Katy Perry and broadcast journalist Gayle King made headlines − and some controversy − for their highly publicized spaceflight. But since then, the last two Blue Origin human spaceflights have not included any household names. The passengers on the next mission, whose names Blue Origin announced Friday, June 13, are a group mostly conservationists and business leaders. Though a target date for the launch has not been made public, the mission was announced less than a month after the last Blue Origin human spaceflight got off the ground May 31. Here's everything to know about the upcoming mission, which would be New Shepard's 13th human spaceflight and 33rd overall. Billionaire Jeff Bezos, best known for founding Amazon, is the founder of the private space technology company Blue Origin. Bezos himself even boarded Blue Origin's New Shepard for its maiden crewed voyage in July 2021, which came after the spacecraft flew on 15 flight tests beginning in 2012. For nearly four years since its first crewed mission, the New Shepard spacecraft has served as a powerful symbol of Blue Origin's commercial spaceflight ambitions amid a growing space tourism industry. In addition to sending space tourists on brief joy rides to the edge of space, Blue Origin has also increasingly sought to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX. Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket, which flew on its inaugural flight test in January, is also being developed for future spaceflights. At 320 feet tall, the spacecraft rivals SpaceX's 400-foot Starship in size. Even Amazon is competing with SpaceX by developing its own Kuiper internet satellite constellation in a direct challenge to Starlink. Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launches take place from the company's private ranch facility known as Launch Site One. The facility is located 30 miles north of the town of Van Horn in Culberson County – more than 140 miles east of El Paso near the U.S.-Mexico border. However, Blue Origin had not yet announced a target launch date at as Monday, June 16. When the New Shepard gets off the ground again, the six people selected to board it will join 64 others who have flown on the spacecraft across 12 previous human spaceflights. Here's a look at the passengers: Allie Kuehner, an environmentalist who serves on the board of Nature is Nonpartisan, a nonprofit organization advocating for bipartisan solutions to environmental issues Carl Kuehner, who chairs Building and Land Technology, a real estate development, investment and property management firm Leland Larson, a philanthropist and former CEO of School Bus Services and Larson Transportation Services – both family-owned public transportation businesses based in Oregon Freddie Rescigno, Jr., CEO of Commodity Cables, an electrical company he founded in 2001 Owolabi Salis, an attorney and a financial consultant Jim Sitkin, a retired lawyer from California Each spaceflight on a New Shepard vehicle lasts about 11 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, the 60-foot-tall New Shepard rocket is topped with the gum drop-shaped crew capsule. The spacecraft operates completely autonomously, meaning no pilots are aboard. During its ascent, the spacecraft reaches supersonic speeds surpassing 2,000 mph before the rocket booster separates from the crew capsule. At that point, those aboard the capsule become weightless as the spacecraft continues toward its highest point on its brief voyage above the Kármán Line – the 62-mile-high internationally recognized boundary of space. While experiencing a few minutes of microgravity, passengers have the opportunity to unstrap themselves from their seats to gaze out the capsule's large windows and take in a stunning view of Earth. Meanwhile, the rocket booster heads back to the ground while firing its engines and using its fins to slow and control its descent to land about two miles from the launchpad. The capsule itself eventually begins what Blue Origin refers to as a "stable freefall' – plummeting back to Earth as three massive parachutes deploy and the capsule makes a soft landing in the desert, sending up plumes of dust. If you have dreams of blasting off to orbit on a Blue Origin spacecraft, you likely need to either have very deep pockets or a name that's recognizable enough to get you invited as an honored guest. Though Blue Origin does not publicly list prices on its website, a form to reserve a seat requires customers to agree to a $150,000 deposit alone. And if the price of the first ticket sold for a Blue Origin spaceflight in 2021 is any indicator, seats likely cost in the millions of dollars. The $28 million ticket price was the winning bid in an auction that included 7,600 people registered to bid from 159 countries. However, a select few passengers over the years have had their seats aboard New Shepard paid through grants and other funding methods from large institutions. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Who is on next Blue Origin rocket launch? See crew for Texas mission
