spaceflight, 1 month ago

The #EuropeanUnion 🇪🇺 announced plans to launch 170 #satellites 🛰️ into #orbit between 2025 and 2027 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/oct/15/billionaire-space-race-can-bezoss-project-kuiper-catch-up-to-musks-starlink

Launched 🚀 by... ?

#Ariane #SpaceX #ULA #ISRO #LaunchCost #ESA

spaceflight, 1 month ago

"Ambitious but achievable. Always. Of course, big dreams 💭 must always be kept within the bounds of what is technically feasible and financially 💰 affordable." https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Saturn_s_moon_Enceladus_top_target_for_ESA

🤔 So they won't launch it with #Ariane6 as of the #LaunchCost ? 🙄

#ESA #Arianespace #Ariane #SpaceX #Falcon9 #FalconHeavy

spaceflight, 21 days ago

The lack of #competition has made it difficult to hash out a competitive offer with the #EU 🇪🇺 https://www.politico.eu/article/iris-2-eu-satellite-project-germany-delay/

#IRIS

spaceflight, 16 days ago

The war in #Ukraine 🇺🇦 has left a deep impression on Europeans, and they have seen the value of secure #satellite 🛰️ Internet. The difficulty is in how to get there. The continent does not have a reusable rocket like #SpaceX's Falcon 9, nor the capacity to rapidly build hundreds of complex satellites. There is the challenge of coordinating such a complex endeavor across many different constituencies https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/05/europes-ambitious-satellite-internet-project-appears-to-be-running-into-trouble/

#IRIS2