500 kg, 2.5 meter #object from #space crashes into Mukuku village in Makueni county, #Kenya -

It is claimed its sound could be heard from 200 km away.

Current identification says it is a #separation #ring from a #rocket

(and it does in fact resemble one) -

any experts here who recognize the make?

@space @planet4589
@esa
@nasa (more links in first comment)

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/object-that-fell-from-the-skies-identified-as-separation-ring-from-a-rocket-4875322

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/28751760

European Space Agency's official web shop was hacked as it started to load a piece of JavaScript code that generates a fake Stripe payment page at checkout.

Welcome everyone! Time for the return to flight of Vega-C, following the Zefiro 40 upper stage failure on the previous launch two years ago.

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-12-05 21:20 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-12-05 18:50 (GFT) | | Launch site | ELV, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France | | Launch vehicle | Vega C | | Payloads | Sentinel-1C | | Payload mass | 2,300.0 kg | | Mission success criteria | Successful launch and deployment into Sun-Synchronous Orbit |

Livestreams

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | Arianespace (English) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt3kWdS9EJo | | Arianespace (Français) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XVo-c9E9LQ | | Arianespace (Italiana) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9iZgcvBq3o | | ESA | https://www.youtube.com/@EuropeanSpaceAgency/streams | | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBwUVT4NpU0 |

Stats

☑️ 1st Vega-C mission of 2024, 4th mission overall

☑️ 2nd Vega mission of 2024, 25th mission overall

☑️ 2nd Arianespace mission of 2024 (not counting Ariane 6 demo), 299th mission overall

Payload info

NextSpaceflight

Sentinel-1C will provide all-weather, day, and night radar imaging for land and ocean services.

Originally intended to launch on the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle, due to geopolitical factors this is no longer an option. ESA instead opted to launch aboard Vega-C.

ESA

The launch will be the return to flight for Vega-C, Europe’s lightweight, high-performance rocket – further securing Europe’s autonomy in space after the successful launch of Ariane 6 last summer.

Once in orbit, Sentinel-1C will extend the Sentinel-1 mission’s legacy, delivering radar imagery to monitor Earth’s changing environment to support a diverse range of applications and scientific research.

Please feel free to post updates and questions in the comments!

[Pour le plaisir des yeux ... 🤩 ] Avez-vous vu ces images de la surface visible du #Soleil - la #photosphère - récemment acquises par les instruments embarqués à bord de la sonde #SolarOrbiter de l' @esa ?

Ces trois images témoignent de la #dynamique de notre Soleil - notamment, des mouvements de #plasma à sa surface, de l'#éjection de matière depuis les #tâches sombres le long des lignes de champ #magnétique.

Infos+ : https://www.esa.int/Science/_Exploration/Space/_Science/Solar/_Orbiter/New/_full/_Sun/_views/_show/_sunspots/_fields/_and/_restless/_plasma

French launch vehicle startup Latitude has signed a multi-launch contract with Atmos Space Cargo, a company developing commercial reentry vehicles.

In a deal announced at Space Tech Expo Europe here Nov. 19, Atmos will buy a minimum of five launches a year of Latitude’s Zephyr rocket between 2028 and 2032. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Each launch will place a Phoenix spacecraft into very low Earth orbit, or VLEO. The spacecraft are designed to accommodate payloads for microgravity research in fields like pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, returning them to Earth.

ESA announced Nov. 19 that it is extending contracts with HyImpulse, Isar Aerospace, Orbex and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) worth a combined 44.22 million euros ($46.7 million) through its “Boost!” program to assist in integrated testing of the launch vehicles they are building.

ESA did not disclose the breakout of the funding, but Isar Aerospace said it received 15 million euros in additional Boost! funding. The company said it will use the funding for testing for the first two flights of its Spectrum small launch vehicle. The company has previously stated it planned to conduct the first Spectrum launch before the end of the year but has not provided recent updates on launch preparations.

Orbex said it received 5.6 million euros for integrated testing of its Orbex Prime launch vehicle it is developing for a first launch as soon as 2025. “This funding extension will enable us to make the vital next step in our journey as we move towards our inaugural launch of our microlauncher, Orbex Prime, next year,” said Phil Chambers, chief executive of Orbex, in a statement.

HyImpulse said will use its 11.8 million euros for work on its SL1 orbital launch vehicle, building upon its SR75 sounding rocket. That includes work on a new hybrid engine, avionics and a third-stage propulsion system.

RFA, which lost the first stage of its first RFA ONE rocket in August when it was destroyed during a static-fire test, will use 11.8 million euros to compete a new first stage and perform testing of it.