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American-Russian resupply of the ISS
The International Space Station constantly requires resupply, whether it be provisions for the astronauts, scientific experiments they must conduct, or spare parts to repair faulty elements of this gigantic laboratory. In less than two weeks, the station received two new cargo shipments, totaling no less than 5.5 tons of payload. These two cargos were the…
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Three newcomers on the ISS
After the return of Soyuz MS07 to Earth on June 3, 2018, there were only three astronauts left on the International Space Station. That’s why on June 8, a new crew took off from Baikonur to join the ISS after two days of travel and 34 orbits. This crew of Soyuz MS09 consisted of American…
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First Bengali communication satellite and first flight of the Falcon 9 Block 5
On Friday, May 11, 2018, a Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral. However, this one was quite different from the usual versions: the interstage is black, as well as the legs and grid fins. The reason for all these differences? This launcher underwent new modifications, but these will mainly be its last major evolutions.…
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InSight, the lander that will listen to the heart of Mars
Mars, the fourth rocky planet in our Solar System. It is all red and still has many secrets. However, it could teach us a lot about the formation of other major rocky bodies like Earth or Venus. That’s why scientists are constantly sending missions to the Red Planet. On Saturday, May 5th, a new probe…
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Europe equips itself with a new land resources surveillance force
Do you know about Copernicus? We’re not talking here about the Prussian astronomer who popularized the idea of heliocentrism, but rather about a program of the European Space Agency (ESA). The ESA developed Copernicus for the purpose of monitoring our Earth, whether it’s forests, oceans, or even air pollution. To accomplish this surveillance, the program…
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A new nation in the space age!
On January 21, 2018, at 2:43 a.m. (French time), RocketLab launched its Electron launcher for the second time from New Zealand. This lightweight rocket, 1.2 meters in diameter and 17 meters tall, took off for a second test flight after the partial failure on May 25, 2017. On its first flight, named It’s a test…
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Zuma, the repeatedly delayed secret launch
The launcher took off on January 8th at 2:00 AM (French time) with… Zuma! This somewhat special satellite was successfully placed into orbit by the private American company.
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Iridium & SpaceX: trust remains present
Three days after Elon Musk’s magnificent teaser (photos of the Falcon Heavy in the hangar) and one minute after the launch of a Japanese H-IIA rocket, a Falcon 9 took off. On board? Satellites 31 to 40 of the Iridium NEXT constellation. This rocket departed from California, specifically from the Vandenberg military base (launch pad…
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New Glenn: Blue Origin’s reusable launcher
SpaceX and its remarkable advancement in the space industry are well-known to all. Between their extraordinary presence as a private actor and their real achievements in recovering a first stage in real conditions, the “communication” machine is so well underway that it seems impossible to stop. SpaceX represents today a form of renewal in space,…