19 February 2016
Test Masses of ESA's LISA Pathfinder Released Successfully
... the spacecraft´s scientific instrument. The LISA Technology Package (LTP), which weighs around 150 kilograms, includes laser interferometers measuring changes in the distance between two precision-engineered gold/platinum test masses, each weighing...
07 June 2016
A green light for the LISA Pathfinder mission
...-masses due to disturbances much smaller than that expected from gravitational wave signals.” LISA, short for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, is a fundamental technology mission aimed at testing the concept of low frequency gravitational wave...
20 July 2016
ESA open new laboratory in UK to test applications for future space missions
..., in this instance, will concentrate on building up parts layer by layer with powder or wire feedstock that is melted using a laser or electron beam source. 3D printed parts are slowly making an impact within spacecraft engineering and if the recent...
13 September 2017
New constellation to reshape Earth observation market
... that will be unrivalled in our industry for a long time.” The very high communication bandwidth possible with lasers – of up to 1.8 Gbit/s – means that up to 40 terabytes of data per day can be transmitted securely in quasi-real-time to Earth. This...
16 December 2020
Russian anti-satellite missile test troubles US Space Command
... President Putin announced the development of a ground-based laser system for use by the Russian Space Forces, which the Russian military ...acknowledged as a "combat laser system”. The US says this pattern of behaviour would ...
14 July 2022
Europe's Vega-C rocket makes successful debut flight
... one which is perfectly adapted to future European needs.” The Italian Space Agency’s LARES-2 (Laser Relativity Satellite 2) is a 36.4 cm diameter passive sphere with laser mirrors for the study of Earth’s gravitational field. Its main objectives are...
