Space

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus have agreed on service orders for two independent payload missions to be launched to the Bartolomeo payload hosting facility on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

Airbus was awarded the Skynet 6A contract in July 2020 and teams across its sites in Stevenage, Portsmouth and Hawthorn have been working on the programme to achieve this key milestone.

Space Highlighs 2020 Infographic

Airbus has signed a contract with Intelsat to build two OneSat satellites operating in multiple frequency bands for Intelsat’s next-generation software-defined network. The contract was signed on 31 December 2020.

CSO-2 is the second of the three-satellite CSO constellation, which will provide extremely high resolution geo information intelligence to the French Armed Forces and to its partners in the frame of the MUSIS cooperation programme (Multinational Space-based Imaging System for surveillance, reconnaissance and observation).

The design, development and launch of a European-owned space-based communication system will be studied by a consortium that includes Airbus. This consortium was selected by the European Commission, with the contract value of its year-long feasibility study amounting to €7.1 million. (Graphic: ©Getty Images)

Airbus and Fraunhofer EMI have signed a contract for an in-orbit demonstration mission on the Bartolomeo platform of the International Space Station (ISS). With this mission, Fraunhofer EMI enables its spin-off ConstellR to demonstrate the core measurement technology required for highly accurate land surface temperature (LST) monitoring on a global scale.

With its large diameter, the reflector would not fit in any rocket fairing, so it must be compactly stowed. After the fairing is released, the reflector will unfold like a flower – from 1.6 to five metres.

The 70 kilogram deployable reflector will help enable higher resolution from a radar instrument for Earth observation. With its exceptionally lightweight design, its stiffness and high robustness, the semi-rigid reflector technology offers significant advantages compared to classic mesh reflectors.

During its 7.5 year lifetime, the ROSE-L mission will serve the needs of many users including the European Union’s Copernicus Land Monitoring and Emergency Management services. It will provide important data on soil moisture, precision farming, food security, forest biomass and changes to land use. In addition, the mission will monitor polar ice sheets and ice caps, sea ice extent, and snow cover.

ROSE-L will be equipped with the largest planar space radar antenna ever built

The Scatterometer (SCA) antenna subsystem of the weather satellite MetOp-SG-B, built by prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space, has successfully passed the Test Review Board (TRB). This validates the technical quality of the antenna design and production. Both customers, the European Space Agency and EUMETSAT, are happy with the results and appreciate the efforts made to reach the milestone despite the Covid crisis, giving the green light to Airbus to manufacture the flight models.

The Scatterometer (SCA) antenna subsystem of the weather satellite MetOp-SG-B, built by prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space, has successfully passed the Test Review Board (TRB). This validates the technical quality of the antenna design and production. Both customers, the European Space Agency and EUMETSAT, are happy with the results and appreciate the efforts made to reach the milestone despite the Covid crisis, giving the green light to Airbus to manufacture the flight models.

Owned and operated by the United Arab Emirates, FalconEye was developed by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space as co-prime contractors.

The satellite weighs approximately 1.5 tons. Now starting with Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the satellites will collect satellite-based measurements of the oceans’ surfaces, continuing a task that first began in 1992. The second Sentinel-6 spacecraft is expected to follow in 2025.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Airbus Defence and Space as prime contractor for the new Land Surface Temperature Monitoring (LSTM) mission. LSTM is part of Copernicus, the European Union's Earth observation programme for global monitoring. It is one of the six new missions, expanding the capabilities of the current Copernicus space component.

Satellite Image Spot6 Woolsey Fire Malibu

The TRUTHS satellite mission will collect measurements of the Sun radiation and of the sunlight reflected off Earth's surface traced to an absolute metrological reference, which will then be used to improve the climatological data sets and calibrate the observations of other satellites.

German Astronaut Thomas Reiter working with Melfi

RemoveDebris Spacecraft Infographic

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El sistema avanzado de circuito cerrado (ACLS)

The Advanced Closed-Loop System (ACLS)

Le système ACLS (Advanced Closed-Loop System for the ISS)

Das ACLS-System (Advanced Closed-Loop System for the ISS)

Orion ESM - Manking on the way to the Moon and beyond

Orion ESM - Voyage autour de la Lune, alimenté par le Module de Service Européen (ESM) d'Airbus

Orion ESM - A journey around the Moon powered by Airbus-built European Service Module (ESM)

Orion ESM - Un viaje alrededor de la Luna, impulsado por el Módulo de Servicio Europeo (ESM) construido por Airbus

Orion ESM - L'humanité s'envole vers la Lune et au-delà

Orion ESM - Eine Reise um den Mond mit dem von Airbus gebauten europäischen Servicemodul (ESM)

Orion ESM - La humanidad, camino a la Luna y más allá

Orion ESM - Die Menschheit auf dem Weg zum Mond und darüber hinaus

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ATV Infographic DE