Liftoff! NASA’s Europa Clipper Sails Toward Ocean Moon of Jupiter

NASA’s Europa Clipper has embarked on its long voyage to Jupiter, where it will investigate Europa, a moon with an enormous subsurface ocean that may have conditions to support life. The spacecraft launched at 12:06 p.m. EDT Monday aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The largest spacecraft NASA ever built for a mission headed to another planet, Europa Clipper also is the first NASA mission dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) on a trajectory that will leverage the power of gravity assists, first to Mars in four months and then back to Earth for another gravity assist flyby in 2026. After it begins orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, the spacecraft will fly past Europa 49 times.

“Congratulations to our Europa Clipper team for beginning the first journey to an ocean world beyond Earth,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA leads the world in exploration and discovery, and the Europa Clipper mission is no different. By exploring the unknown, Europa Clipper will help us better understand whether there is the potential for life not just within our solar system, but among the billions of moons and planets beyond our Sun.”

Approximately five minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s second stage fired up and the payload fairing, or the rocket’s nose cone, opened to reveal Europa Clipper. About an hour after launch, the spacecraft separated from the rocket. Ground controllers received a signal soon after, and two-way communication was established at 1:13 p.m. with NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia. Mission teams celebrated as initial telemetry reports showed Europa Clipper is in good health and operating as expected.

“We could not be more excited for the incredible and unprecedented science NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will deliver in the generations to come,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Everything in NASA science is interconnected, and Europa Clipper’s scientific discoveries will build upon the legacy that our other missions exploring Jupiter — including Juno, Galileo, and Voyager — created in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”

The main goal of the mission is to determine whether Europa has conditions that could support life. Europa is about the size of our own Moon, but its interior is different. Information from NASA’s Galileo mission in the 1990s showed strong evidence that under Europa’s ice lies an enormous, salty ocean with more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Scientists also have found evidence that Europa may host organic compounds and energy sources under its surface.

ICEYE launches four new satellites into orbit, expanding its own constellation and serving customer missions

The latest successful satellite deployment strengthens the Earth observation capabilities for ICEYE’s customers and includes the first ICEYE satellite mission for Bayanat and Yahsat.

ICEYE, the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operations for Earth Observation, persistent monitoring, and natural catastrophe solutions, successfully launched four new SAR satellites on August 16,  2024. The new satellites further expand the world’s largest SAR constellation, owned and operated by ICEYE. The satellites were integrated via Exolaunch and successfully lifted off aboard the Transporter-11 Rideshare mission with Space X from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. Each spacecraft has established communication, and early routine operations are underway.

The satellites serve both ICEYE’s commercial and dedicated customer missions and were manufactured by ICEYE in Finland and ICEYE US in the United States. The satellites include the first ICEYE satellite launch for Bayanat (a leading provider of AI-powered geospatial solutions)  and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (Yahsat – the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider) for their earlier announced Earth Observation Space Program.

“With frequent and steady deployment of new satellites into the ICEYE constellation, we are making progress towards our vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation. The powerful and capable satellite constellation ensures fulfilling our commitments to working as a trusted partner with a growing number of governments and commercial industries to deliver timely, accurate, and actionable insights for faster and better decision-making. We are proud to launch the first ICEYE satellite for our customer Bayanat and Yahsat and look forward to continued successful cooperation on their missions”, said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-Founder of ICEYE.

Hasan Al Hosani, Managing Director of Bayanat, said: “The launch of our first satellite marks a highly anticipated milestone for both our collaborative efforts and for the UAE. This is a triumphant moment for Bayanat and a defining step toward our future as Space42. Inaugurating our Earth Observation capabilities, including the debut of our SAR satellite constellation, will further strengthen our position as a leader in AI-powered geospatial analytics. Our ongoing partnership with ICEYE, building on our shared ambition with Yahsat, continues to prove invaluable, enabling us to leverage space insights for informed decision-making on Earth.”

Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) confirms deployment of HawkEye 360 microsatellite clusters 8 and 9

Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) confirmed that six radio frequency geolocation microsatellites developed for HawkEye 360 of Herndon, Va., have successfully communicated with ground control. The HawkEye 360 Cluster 8 and 9 satellites were launched yesterday at 7:16 pm EDT from Florida aboard the SpaceX Bandwagon-1 Rideshare.

The two new three-satellite clusters bring to 27 the total number of geolocation microsatellites developed by SFL for HawkEye 360, which integrated Cluster 8 at its own plant in Virginia under SFL’s Flex Production Program. For Cluster 9, which represents the next evolution and includes updated payload and platform features, SFL handled the entire process, including development, integration, and testing, at its Toronto facility.

“SFL is proud to play a key role in the development of HawkEye 360’s space assets as it continues to expand and enhance its unparalleled space-based RF data detection and analytics capabilities,” said SFL Director Dr. Robert E. Zee.

U.S. FAA delays SpaceX final environmental decision to June 13

Photo REUTERS/Veronica G. Cardenas

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday again delayed completing a final environmental assessment of the proposed SpaceX Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket program in Boca Chica, Texas until June 13. Reporting by David Shepardson. Editing by Gerry Doyle and Chizu Nomiyama for Reuters.

In late April, the FAA extended the target date to May 31 for a decision, saying it was "working toward issuing the final Programmatic Environmental Assessment" after several delays. The agency said in April SpaceX had made multiple changes to its application that required additional FAA analysis. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said in February he was "highly confident" his new SpaceX Starship, designed for voyages to the moon and Mars, would reach Earth orbit for the first time this year.

Even in a "worst-case" scenario, in which a full environmental impact statement was required or legal wrangling over the issue threatened to drag on, Musk said SpaceX has a fallback plan.

The company would shift its entire Starship program to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, where SpaceX already has received the environmental approval it needs, Musk said.

Such a move would cause a setback of six to eight months, he added. In any case, SpaceX is still shooting for a 2023 launch of what it calls the world's first private lunar mission, flying aboard a Starship to loop around the moon and return to Earth.

The FAA also released 17,000 comments Tuesday that show concerns raised about the project impact on migratory birds, endangered species and a nearby wildlife refuge.

The nearby city of Port Isabel, Texas raised "serious concerns" in a November letter warning the "potential impact of noise, vibration and overpressure" and asked the FAA to limit the number of launches per year and restrict the time and conditions when they are allowed.

The FAA notes completing the environmental review does not guarantee the issuance of a vehicle operator license, which is contingent upon meeting FAA requirements for safety, risk and financial responsibility.

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