All articles tagged with #satellite delivery
The last European Ariane 5 rocket has arrived at the launch pad for its final mission, carrying a French military satellite and a communications technology testbed spacecraft for Germany. This will be the 117th mission for the Ariane 5 since its introduction in 1996. The retirement of the Ariane 5 will leave Europe without its own independent access to space until the Ariane 6 vehicle makes its inaugural launch in 2024.
Despite the mid-flight explosion of SpaceX's Starship rocket during its inaugural test flight, the broader space community sees the launch as a success, according to Bank of America analyst Ronald Epstein. The launch achieved what it set out to do, climbing some 24 miles before blowing up, and surpassed the point of maximum mechanical stress. The ultimate goals of Starship are to deliver satellites into Earth's orbit, travel to the Moon, and make interplanetary voyages to Mars a reality. One Starship launch could potentially carry 4,300 small satellites into space, or more than triple the number of satellites launched in 2020.