DLR - Blogs

Landsat 8 – into space on Carnival Monday

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:21:00 +0100

For over 40 years, the US Landsat series of satellites has been delivering multispectral and thermal imaging data of the entire planet at a consistent high quality. As a consequence, the Landsat data archive has become an important tool for Earth remote sensing. It has helped to visualise long-term changes on the ground, to explore the influence of mankind on the biosphere and to manage natural resources.

Ariane 5 with record GTO payload mass launches tonight

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:02:00 +0200

Exactly four weeks after the last launch, the next Ariane is, once again, on the launch platform! The final launch preparations are underway for what will be the fourth Ariane 5 launch (VA208) this year from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The 'dress rehearsal' took place last Friday, and the Launch Readiness Review was completed successfully on Tuesday. Yesterday, the rocket was rolled out to the launch platform, so nothing stands in the way of tonight’s launch. The Ariane 5 launch window opens at 22:54 CEST and closes 57 minutes later at 23:51 CEST. Those interested can follow the launch on the 'live-stream' provided by Arianespace.

Into orbit as planned

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 09:51:00 +0200

Late in the evening, just as the launch window opened at 23:36 CEST, the Ariane 5ECA VA207 launched successfully with the EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 satellites on board. About 34 minutes later, the two payloads were injected into geostationary transfer orbits. This was the 49th successive successful launch of an Ariane 5, and the third one this year.

Ariane 5 ready for launch in Kourou carrying one weather and one telecommunications satellite

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:40:00 +0200

It's that time again! Final preparations for the third Ariane 5 launch this year (VA207) are currently underway at Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. Following a successful launch readiness review on Tuesday and yesterday's roll out to the launch pad, no other formalities stand in the way of tonight's launch. The launch window opens at 23:36 CEST and closes 29 minutes later, that is, tomorrow at 00:05 CEST. The launch window opens at 23:36 CEST and closes 29 minutes later, that is, tomorrow at 00:05 CEST. Arianespace will be live streaming the launch here.

SpaceLiveBlog – Ready for Ignition!

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 12:50:00 +0200

It's almost here. Our SpaceLiveBlog will be filled with new space-related events. In the future, Thilo Kranz and Denis Regenbrecht will be blogging here. Thilo Kranz isn't a newcomer; he blogged about the final Space Shuttle launches and delivered some striking pictures of the Shuttle's farewell. Together with Denis Regenbrecht, he works for the Ariane programme in DLR's Space Administration. For this reason, they both have front row seats during an Ariane or, more recently, a Soyuz or Vega lift-off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Ready for Ignition! We look forward to details and background information about the upcoming countdowns.

And here we continue...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:15:00 +0200

And we continue here at the ATV Tweetup at CNES in Toulouse, France. Let’s go to the next item in the programme...

ATV docking process – from ‘first contact’ to electrical and data hook-ups

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:10:00 +0200

The ‘magical moment’ in the ATV 3 docking process is scheduled to take place at 00:33 CEST; the docking probe of ‘Edoardo Amaldi’ will make contact with the docking cone in the aft port of the Russian Zvezda module on the International Space Station (ISS). This is just the first stage in a process lasting about 25 minutes.

Timeline for ATV-3 docking

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:40:00 +0200

So that everyone knows what is happening as ATV-3, 'Eduardo Amaldi', approaches and docks with the International Space Station, here is the nominal timeline for this evening's activities:

ATV-3 docking tonight – live blog from the control centre in Toulouse

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:19:00 +0200

After a successful launch on board an Ariane 5 ES rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 23 March 2012, ATV-3, ‘Edoardo Amaldi’, is nearing the end of its journey to the International Space Station (ISS). It is scheduled to dock with the Zvezda module at 00:33 CEST tomorrow morning (29 March – 22:33 UTC [28 March]), where it will remain for five months.

'Shuttle Launch Blog' is now 'SpaceLiveBlog'

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:00:00 +0100

This blog used to be called 'Shuttle Launch Blog', and reported on the latest Space Shuttle flights and missions. Since the shuttle programme has now ended, we want to use this blog as a source of information for a wide variety of space-related events, such as launches from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, spacewalks at the International Space Station or the docking of the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, ATV, with the ISS. For this reason, from now on, it will be the ' SpaceLiveBlog'. Updates coming soon ...

STS-135 Atlantis – the final episode

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:20:00 +0200

The Space Shuttle Atlantis announced its arrival at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the early morning hours of 21 July 2011 with a double sonic boom. Just over three minutes later, the spaceship touched down on the runway and at 05:57:54 local time "wheels stop" was called for the last time. Atlantis and its crew had safely returned to Earth. NASA's space shuttles have travelled into orbit 135 times; this era ended today. The space shuttles have shaped US space policy for the last 30 years and have stood as an icon of human spaceflight for a whole generation.

STS-134: Launch scrubbed, no earlier than Monday 18.33 UTC / 20.33 CEST

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:20:00 +0200

For further information check NASA's Space Shuttle RSS Feed.

A long farewell

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:00:00 +0200

The small space shop on site at the Kennedy Space Center gives an indication of the fast-approaching end of space shuttle flights from the cape; everything is reduced in price. Although many people here on the ‘Space Coast’ are unsure about the coming months and years, the spirit needed to carry this historic space location into the future of spaceflight is unbroken. The day before the launch of STS-134, the press conferences were not just looking forward to the imminent mission.

STS-134 Launch -1: 1500 journalists and more than half a million visitors expected

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:40:00 +0200

The alarm clock goes off at 04:45 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). At 05:30, breakfast. At 06:00, the ESA-DLR media delegation, consisting of a dozen journalists and a number of 'Public Affairs Officers' (as NASA calls them) is on the move. At 08:40, after obtaining additional accreditation at two badging stations, we finally arrive at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) press site.

STS-134: Ready to blog

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:10:00 +0200

Since yesterday's Flight Readiness Review (FRR) confirmed a "Go" for Endeavour's Launch on 29 April it's now certain that we (me, that is) will continue blogging here starting next Thursday, 28 April, where there will be first photo opportunities at Kennedy Space Center. Unfortunately my DLR colleague Thilo Kranz, fellow blogger and excellent shuttle photographer, will not be there this time.