SpaceX to launch UK-built satellites into space to track climate change June 24, 2021 SpaceX is set to launch three UK-built satellites into space tomorrow, designed to monitor climate change and track endangered wildlife. The UK companies behind the environment tracking tech received a near £15m from the UK Space Agency, through the European Space Agency’s Pioneer Partnership Programme. “As we get ready to host the UN climate change [...]
UK companies to help plot ‘constellation’ of satellites around the Moon May 20, 2021 UK space companies have begun developing navigation and telecommunication capabilities to put a ‘constellation’ of satellites around the Moon, according to the European Space Agency (ESA) today. With funding from the UK Space Agency, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), Inmarsat and MDA Space and Robotics have bagged £2m contracts with the ESA for the satellite [...]
UK Space Agency joins hunt for Earth-like planets orbiting alien stars March 8, 2019 The UK Space Agency is set to provide £7m to tackle solar winds' impact on Earth communications, as it works with other space agencies to search for more Earth-like planets orbiting alien stars. The space weather mission, called the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (Smile), will study how solar wind affects the Earth's magnetosphere [...]
UK Space Agency fires £18m into Oneweb for a global communications network in space February 18, 2019 The UK Space Agency has invested £18m into building a new global communications network in space, provided by Softbank-backed London satellite firm Oneweb. Named Project Sunrise, the system will initially be comprised of around 650 satellites, before expanding to more than 900 satellites over time. While on a visit to the European Space Agency today, science [...]
Back to the future: UK scientists complete testing of AI-powered autonomous Mars robot January 2, 2019 To boldly go where no other robot has gone before, the UK Space Agency have finished testing a Mars rover that will be able to make its own decisions on where to explore, enabling it to travel much further than existing robots. The Martian robot will use artificial intelligence (AI) software, developed by researchers at King's College London [...]
Rosetta comet landing mission: Scientists think they’re on the brink of discovering alien life July 6, 2015 The Rosetta comet could be covered in tiny alien life forms, scientists involved in the European Space Agency's comet-landing mission reckon. Read more: Hope for the Rosetta comet-landing mission: Philae wakes up and sends signal to earth, European Space Agency says Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe and Dr Max Wallis from the University of Cardiff believe [...]
Here’s everything you need to know about the EU’s Sentinel Earth-watching mission June 23, 2015 Late last night, the EU launched the Sentinel-2a satellite into space, from where it will take detailed photos of the world's food crops. Read more: How to stop climate change: Drop the hamburger The satellite was developed by the European Space Agency, and was sent up from Kourou in French Guiana aboard a Vega [...]
Hope for the Rosetta comet-landing mission: Philae wakes up and sends signal to earth, European Space Agency says June 14, 2015 The Philae probe that landed on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in November has finally woken up from hibernation. According to the European Space Agency, which launched the Rosetta space mission to land on a comet in 2004, the probe radioed the agency this weekend for the first time in seven months. Read more: Rosetta takes a selfie in [...]
Rosetta mission: The European Space Agency is hoping comet lander Philae is about to wake up March 16, 2015 The European Space Agency is eagerly awaiting signs that the Rosetta probe Philae – which successfully landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November – is about to wake up. It was an historic moment last autumn when the signal was received in ESA's German mission centre that the probe had landed on the comet's surface. But [...]
ESA races ahead in space travel with Europe’s first space taxi launch February 9, 2015 Until its Space Shuttle programme was closed down in 2007, the US was the dominant force in the development of space taxis. Operated by Nasa, the 40-metre-long vehicles delivered satellites into space, conducted science experiments in orbit and helped construct the International Space Station. At the time, Europe had created nothing capable of [...]