Avio S.p.A

A full-scale drop test of the European Space Agency’s Space Rider spaceplane ended abruptly after the test model’s parafoil failed to deploy as expected. Thi...

Just two weeks after it was launched, the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite returned its first images and measurements from two of its key instruments – a maj...

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 6 – A… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of th...

Following its launch in May and a multi-month commissioning period, the joint European Space Agency… The post ESA, CAS release first images from SMILE; offi...

On 23 September, the European-Chinese Smile mission was declared ready to start revealing how Earth responds to the wind of charged particles from the Sun. T...

“I can tell you SpaceX has already gone captive."

Nine orbital launches are scheduled worldwide this week. Two Falcon 9s are expected to deliver… The post Launch Preview: Nine orbital launches scheduled fro...

Italian launch services provider Avio has successfully completed its second Vega-C flight of 2026, deploying the European Commission’s third Sentinel-3 Earth...

ESA’s state-of-the-art FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite have been launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’...

Watch the full replay of the launch of ESA’s state-of-the-art FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite. Both were launched toge...

The mission, with the shorthand VV30, is the second launch of a Vega-C rocket managed solely by Avio without Arianespace. Liftoff from Ensemble de Lancement...

The European Space Agency’s FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite have been launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Eu...

The mission, with the shorthand VV30, is the second launch of a Vega-C rocket managed solely by Avio without Arianespace. Liftoff from Ensemble de Lancement...

Plants may look still and silent, but every leaf is constantly responding to its environment.

Two Earth observation satellites – ESA’s Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) satellite, and the third satellite for the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission – are encapsul...

Avio S.p.A., the Italian prime contractor, launch service provider, and launch operator for the Vega… The post Vega C set to launch the ESA Sentinel-3C and...

On 15 September, two spacecraft will leave Earth together aboard the same launcher from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou: FLEX, ESA’s photosynthesis mission, and...

From the ESA Blogs.

From the ESA Blogs.

The European Space Agency’s FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite are scheduled to launch together aboard a Vega-C rocket on 15 September a...

On 4 September 2026, media representatives joined an online briefing ahead of the launch of ESA’s FLEX and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellites.

At Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, preparations for one of the year’s most anticipated Earth-observation launches are entering their final stages.

From the ESA Blogs.

Description This roof-mounted air sensor in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is one of 10 used by NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) to study...

Description This map of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, shows the locations of 10 air sensors that NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) missio...

Europe’s newest eye on the health of Earth’s vegetation has taken another crucial step towards orbit – the European Space Agency’s FLEX satellite has been fu...

A NASA-funded air pollution monitoring network has provided one of the most detailed long-term views yet of the role of black carbon, or soot produced by fir...

With liftoff scheduled for September, excitement is building at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana as two cutting-edge Earth observation satellites, FLEX an...

From the ESA Blogs.

A full-scale drop test of ESA’s Space Rider spaceplane in early May was aborted after an anomaly during the captive ascent phase, the agency told European Sp...

ESA and China recently launched the joint SMILE magnetosphere mission after a decade of cooperation, but despite similar goals, another collaboration appears...

Smile successfully launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 19 May 2026.

Six launches are scheduled worldwide during the next week, with the 12th flight of SpaceX’s… The post Launch Preview: Falcon 9, Electron, and Vega C launch...

ESA’s Smile satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 loc...