Airbus Defence and Space’s Post

👋 Bon Voyage ESM-3! 🚢 Orion's third European Service Module (ESM-3) is leaving Airbus Defence and Space' facilities in Bremen, Germany, and heading to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, aboard the ship Canopée, where it will be assembled and tested with the Crew Module. 🌑 This third mission in NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Artemis Programme will mark the first human return to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972.  👩🚀 The ESM-3, built by #TeamAirbus under contract to European Space Agency - ESA, will play a critical role in supporting four astronauts during their three-week mission aboard the Orion spacecraft: from the moment they leave Earth’s orbit, through their journey into lunar orbit, docking with the Human Landing System (HLS) in lunar orbit, and their safe return to Earth. 👉 https://lnkd.in/ep3NDgAg #NASA #ESA #Artemis #SpaceExploration #ForwardToTheMoon

#Artemis Moon Missions Update 🌕 #NASA is addressing technical concerns and budget constraints, resulting in delays. The Artemis II crewed flight test is now scheduled for September 2025. Learn more about the critical components affecting the mission's timeline here: https://ow.ly/Tn2Z50QpmXL Furthermore, anticipate The Space Report's Q4 edition on Jan. 23, offering detailed insights into planned 2024 launches, 2023 launch and payload activity, and more. 🛰️ #SpaceNews #ArtemisUpdate

🎉Congratulations to ArianeGroup, European Space Agency - ESA , CNES, ARIANESPACE for the successful launch of Ariane 6’s inaugural flight 🚀 Ariane 6 is the latest in Europe's Ariane rocket series, taking over from Ariane 5, and featuring a modular and versatile design that can launch missions from low-Earth orbit and farther out into deep space. 🚀 Did you know that Bossard supplies fasteners for Ariane 6? We were also one of the principal suppliers of various fasteners for the payload fairing of rocket Ariane 5, which transported the James Webb Space Telescope into space. Read more about our role in researching our universe here: 👉https://buff.ly/3PP5KNL Source: ARIANESPACE #Ariane6 #aerospace #fasteners #ESA #CNES #ArianeGroup #Arianespace #NASA

A new Space Race is well underway. Congratulations to China for another landing on the Moon, particularly as it was on the far side and at the South Pole. Now the US needs to decide how it wants the space program to run. Keep pumping money into to continued delays and failures with Boeing and ULA or have a real space program. There is no innovation with the 'historic' space companies, just the consumption of enormous amounts of tax dollars. I understand the need for competition for commercial launch systems, but surely the time has come to back SpaceX and Blue Origin properly. Remove the bureaucracy that surrounds spaceflight development and compete with China on equal terms... Or just cede space to China and Russia, because ESA has no innovation either. Feel free to challenge my thoughts.... #spacex #space #spacerace #blueorigin #nasa #boeing #ULA

Crew Dragon Freedom Shuttle from Ax-3 Mission Successfully Docks at the International Space Station The private Ax-3 mission's Crew Dragon Freedom shuttle has successfully docked with the International Space Station. The crew will conduct experiments on the impact of space on human health. The Ax-3 mission has reached the International Space Station. The four-person crew is led by Michael Lopez-Alegria, representing the United States and Spain. The crew includes Italian Air Force's Walter Villadei as the pilot and Marcus Wandt from Sweden, representing the European Space Agency - ESA. Also part of the crew is Alper Gezeravci, who has become the first Turkish space traveler. Both the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Falcon 9 rocket that launched it into orbit were provided, launched, and operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, under contract with Axiom Space, as was the case with the first two Axiom missions to the ISS since 2022. The crew will carry out experiments to study the effects of space on human health. #SpaceEconomyMaster #SpaceEconomy #NewSpace #NewSpaceEconomy #SpaceEconomyInstitute #Space

🚀 Space is Hard: Falcon 9's Latest Challenge After successfully delivering astronauts to the ISS, SpaceX's Falcon 9 has been temporarily grounded as a result of its third anomaly in just three months. This shows that even the most established players in the aerospace industry face setbacks. But, in my opinion, it also highlights the importance of having multiple launcher alternatives... With Falcon 9 grounded, who's going to launch what to space now? 🤦♂️ The good news? Europe is rising to the challenge! We have incredible companies right here catching up to SpaceX and ready to step up the game. Exciting times ahead! 🔥🌍 Space exploration is undeniably complex and demands continuous innovation. While SpaceX has revolutionised access to space, challenges like these remind us that the journey is never straightforward. What are your thoughts on this? Let’s discuss! 💬

"The launch date of the EarthCARE mission is set for May 28th, just 13 days away. As we approach the final stages EarthCARE mission. Different dedicated teams from SpaceX Airbus Defence and Space European Space Agency - ESA JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency working around the clock to finalize preparations. This mission represents years of hard work, innovation, and collaboration. It will contribute to the advancement of our understanding of Earth's atmosphere. Stay tuned for updates as we count down to launch!" Video credit: ESA #esa #earth #earthobservation #climatechange #Space #spaceexploration #satellite #remotesensing #climate #spacex

In 2018, SpaceX achieved a milestone by using the same booster for the third time to launch a rocket with 64 satellites into low Earth orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Sign up to our #aerospaceengineering newsletter to get the latest on commercial space flight, deep space exploration, satellites, aeronautics, and more, every Friday. Subscribe now 👉 https://ie.social/e8Owk   #engineering #aerospace #aerospaceengineering

Nice explanation of the complexities of aerospace. Science spacecraft are particularily complicated because we often have instruments with very specific requirements that are not in play with commercial spacecraft. I once worked on the proposal for Gravity Probe B. That mission demanded that the spacecraft remain completely balanced mass wise throughout the mission. The center of mass had to be stable - even though cryogen in the large dewar was boiling off and it might slosh. Other spacecraft have super contamination sensitive optics exposed to the launch envirornment like the James Webb Space Telescope. James Webb also operated at just a few degrees C above absolute zero (-273 degrees C). It took a lot of work to qualify adhesives, coatings, and other polymers to work at those temperatures. Worse water condenses at -110 degrees C in vacuum and evaporates above that temperature (liquid state only happens in certain conditions in space). There is a lot of water on the surfaces of materials and trapped in many plastics and other electronic polymers in a spacecraft. It was quite an effort to figure out how to cool down the optics during ground testing and on orbit. It was another huge effort to deal with the coefficient of expansion. Many materials shink and expand with temperature. We've all run hot water over a metal lid to get a glass jar open. Imagine what might happen to optics that are bonded into a metal mount. The adhesive could have so much stress it cracks and the optic comes loose. In our Far Ultraviolet Light systems, the optics could distort just enought to ruin the science even through the bond stays fine.

A most interesting talk.