Tag: Proton

  • Massive European spacecraft launched toward Mars

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    Photo credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016 Boosted off planet Earth by a Russian Proton rocket, a European-built space probe departed for Mars on Monday, beginning a mission to test future landing technologies and search for methane, a potential signature of microbial life. The mission also aims to map Mars in high-resolution and search for hydrogen embedded…

  • Proton rocket reaches launch pad with Mars probe

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    A Russian Proton rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, riding a specially-built rail car with Europe’s ExoMars mission bound for the red planet. The ExoMars spacecraft, comprising a European-built orbiter and lander, is the only mission launching to Mars this year, scheduled for blastoff at 0931:42…

  • European Mars probe encapsulated for launch

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    The ExoMars spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Proton rocket’s payload fairing March 2. Credit: ESA – B. Bethge Europe’s ExoMars orbiter was enclosed inside the nose cone of its Proton rocket Wednesday ahead of its March 14 launch toward the red planet to sniff out the source of Martian methane. The fully-fueled Mars orbiter is…

  • ExoMars orbiter and lander mated for final time

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    European technicians working at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan have bolted an Italian-built Mars lander to its mothership ahead of a March 14 launch toward the red planet. The attachment is a major step in preparations for next month’s launch the European Space Agency’s first mission to Mars since 2003, and the first of two…

  • European Mars probe arrives at launch site

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    The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is closed inside a shipping container before leaving Thales Alenia Space’s facility in Cannes, France, on Dec. 17. Credit: ESA – B. Bethge Three heavy-duty Antonov cargo planes flew components of Europe’s ExoMars orbiter and lander from Italy to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkhastan last week, setting up for a…

  • European Mars probe arrives at launch site

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    The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is closed inside a shipping container before leaving Thales Alenia Space’s facility in Cannes, France, on Dec. 17. Credit: ESA – B. Bethge Three heavy-duty Antonov cargo planes flew components of Europe’s ExoMars orbiter and lander from Italy to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkhastan last week, setting up for a…

  • Proton rocket launches with Russian-European comsat

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    Updated at 2 a.m. EST (0700 GMT) after launch. A Proton rocket lifted off at 2131 GMT (4:31 p.m. EST) with the Express AMU1/Eutelsat 36C satellite. Credit: TsENKI TV A Proton rocket lifted off from Kazakhstan on Thursday with a large European-built telecommunications satellite to broadcast television, radio and other services across Russia and sub-Saharan…

  • Russian data relay satellite launched by Proton rocket

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    File photo of a Proton rocket launch. Credit: Roscosmos A secretive Russian military communications satellite arrived in geostationary orbit Sunday after a successful liftoff aboard a Proton rocket, the Russian defense ministry said. The Garpun communications satellite blasted off at 0019 GMT Sunday (7:19 p.m. EST Saturday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and it…

  • ExoMars orbiter and lander on display

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    The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander were recently presented to the media as they prepare for a tandem launch to the red planet in March. The two spacecraft combined will weigh 4.3 metric tons, or about 9,480 pounds, when fully fueled for liftoff in a 12-day window opening March 14.…

  • ExoMars nears launch, thanks to nonstop work in factory

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    Artist’s concept of Europe’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter at Mars. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab Working around the clock to meet a 12-day launch window in March, European engineers are putting the final touches on a Mars orbiter that could shed light on whether tiny microbes or geologic activity still linger on the barren planet. A stationary…