ESA´s Planck reveals an almost perfect Universe

21.03.2013 - Acquired by the European Space Agency’s Planck space telescope, the most detailed map ever created of the cosmic microwave background – the relic radiation from the Big Bang – was released today. mehr

Swiss Space Systems plans suborbital shuttle to launch small satellites by 2018

13.03.2013 - Swiss Space Systems – S3, a new Swiss aerospace company, was officially inaugurated in Payerne today. S3 aims to develop, build, certify and operate suborbital space shuttles dedicated to launching small satellites, with launching costs up to four times less than at present. mehr

Herschel to be shut down in coming weeks

05.03.2013 - ESA’s Herschel space observatory is expected to exhaust its supply of liquid helium coolant in the coming weeks after spending more than three exciting years studying the cool Universe. mehr

Ariane 5 lofts record payload

07.02.2013 - Ariane 5 has been successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana, for the 54th time in a row. The required performance for this, the 212th Ariane flight, was 10.317 kg in geostationary orbit, including 9.503 kg for the two satellites, a new record. mehr

Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo

Virgin Galactic, the US company developing the world’s first commercial manned space flight system and tourism business, is delighted to announce the successful completion today of the first piloted free flight of SpaceShipTwo, named the VSS Enterprise. The spaceship was released from its mothership at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 metres). mehr

ESA needs new astronatus for future ambitions

By Matthias Gründer ESA is currently looking for new astronauts to go to the ISS over the next few years and later on to even fly to the moon. Gerhard Thiele, Head of the European Astronaut Corps, reveals more in an interview. mehr

Excavator at Mars pole

After a fortuitous landing close to the ice-covered north pole of Mars, the NASA Phoenix lander is operating as a remotely controlled digging machine. On board the platform are two German items of equipment: a camera and a detector for the analysis of soil samples mehr