EU spacecraft production 2010 - 2022
Exports and imports pretty much flat, unfortunately the stats stop at 2022.
It's the coming years that should be interesting.
source: ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/...
Frohe Weihnachten @ everyone! 🎄 ☃️
'Sh*it happens', but somewhat concerning it took 3 months and a Reuters investigation for the public to even hear about this incident...
www.reuters.com/technology/s...
Change of guard at #Arianespace
Stéphane Israël out, David Cavaillolès new CEO from 2025.
Cavaillolès' been moving up through 🇫🇷 elite leadership pipeline, with an engineering focus:
École polytechnique followed by ENSAE & a position as ministerial adviser on space policy.
There is a pro setting. Will have to muck around with it. But tbh, I am not great a photographer or anything, I just want to create some memories for myself.
New pet peeve:
I photograph a really nice sunrise, but then the camera app turns it into Mordor. 😐
At least let me turn off whatever filter/processing is going on here.
Good news.
🇦🇹 Austrian OMV (30% state owned) is terminating it's delivery contract with 🇷🇺 Gazprom with immediate effect.
ICYMI: #VegaC return-to-flight #VV25 with Sentinel 1C
Launch on 5th Dec from Kourou.
Due to Bluesky restrictions this is a short 50 sec clip showing lift-off from four different viewpoints.
Full highlight video can be found here: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Newly added to the feed:
Matteo Emanuelli
@matteoinspace.bsky.social
Manager Radar Prog @Airbus
Melissa Hobson
@melissa-hobson.bsky.social
Exoplanet astrophysicist
Andrew Higgins
@a-j-higgins.bsky.social
Prof. Mechanical Eng.
Laura Driessen
@astrolaura.bsky.social
Radio astronomer @Uni Sydney
Newly added to the feed:
Matteo Emanuelli
@matteoinspace.bsky.social
Manager Radar Prog @Airbus
Melissa Hobson
@melissa-hobson.bsky.social
Exoplanet astrophysicist
Andrew Higgins
@a-j-higgins.bsky.social
Prof. Mechanical Eng.
Laura Driessen
@astrolaura.bsky.social
Radio astronomer @Uni Sydney
A brief depart from my "space-lane" to recommend this excellent piece of writing by @alxluck.bsky.social. 👇
Permalink for my manually curated
Space & Space Flight & Astronomy feed:
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Suggestions for new contributors always welcome!
🇪🇺 Galileo accuracy compared to:
🇺🇸 GPS
🇷🇺Glonass
🇨🇳Beidou
(smaller values better)
Not bad at all...
🚀 #Ariane6 #VA263 - 🛰️CSO-3 - Update
The LLPM arrived at ELA-4 BAL (Bâtiment d'Assemblage Lanceur).
📆NET flight date: 25.2.2025
"Joel Shulman, Contributor, Dr. Shulman provides expertise on entrepreneurial wealth creation."
Obviously the expertise does not include space, to put it mildly.
Please welcome to the feed:
Paavo Heiskanen
@paavoh.bsky.social
Head of Section @ ESA
Bethany Downer
@bethanydowner.bsky.social
Communications Officer @ ESA
Anatoly Zak
@anatolyzak.bsky.social
RussianSpaceWeb.com
Mark McCaughrean
@markmccaughrean.bsky.social
Fmr Snr Advisor Science & Exp @ ESA
Please welcome to the feed:
Paavo Heiskanen
@paavoh.bsky.social
Head of Section @ ESA
Bethany Downer
@bethanydowner.bsky.social
Communications Officer @ ESA
Anatoly Zak
@anatolyzak.bsky.social
RussianSpaceWeb.com
Mark McCaughrean
@markmccaughrean.bsky.social
Fmr Snr Advisor Science & Exp @ ESA
🚀 #VegaC #VV25 scrubed.
The mobile gantry sadly being not all that mobile tonight.
According to Arianespace a "mechanical issue [is] preventing withdrawal"
Next launch attempt in 24 hours.
And, because I love demolishing my own arguments:
Cube/Nanosats is one area where 'build it and they come' worked.
Rideshares missions, made possible by higher launch cadence/lower costs, created new users (eg university science, small start ups) for whom space access was previously unaffordable.
Good counterpoint to what I said posted below. 👇
(As with everything it depends on the details.
Extreme example, launch customers A and B:
A) LEO constellation, many 🛰️s, steady replacement need.
B) 1x 350m$ GEO telcom-sat, 15-year design life
$/kg a lot more relevant for one than the other.)
Alternative for anyone who, like me, feels 'I can't take Trump stuff now, the weekend is supposed to be fun':
Bookmark it and reference back when/if the tariffs actually hit. 😉
Can confirm.
Of course not seeing such extreme numbers like Garner, because I am small fry. But:
People here actually leave comments on posts, answer questions & tend to follow back.
Don't know if Bluesky will succeed, however the 'it's like Twitter ca. 2014' vibe is definitely feelable.
We aren't comparable in audience size, but I noticed something similar:
Despite having 1/5th of followers on Bluesky than on X, the engagement on posts here is equal or even better.
Some deactivated their account, but lots more simply stopped checking in despite not formally leaving the platform.
Space economy revenue by segment:
Note that 'Launch' is the smallest slice. For an aspiring space venture, manufacturing & ground segment on the cost, or service on the revenue side, can easily overpower price-to-orbit as a deciding factor for success.
Free launch ≠ Free lunch
Space economy revenue by segment:
Note that 'Launch' is the smallest slice. For an aspiring space venture, manufacturing & ground segment on the cost, or service on the revenue side, can easily overpower price-to-orbit as a deciding factor for success.
Free launch ≠ Free lunch
"2024: 100$/kg to space"
1️⃣ Are we just making stuff up now?
2️⃣ Price-to-orbit is important, but often over-emphasized for the viability of a space project.
Often it's boring stuff, like user segment cost (terminals) or competition from terrestrial services, that makes or breaks the business case.
Omg, Errol is absolutely horrible, but in hilarious sort of way. 😁
Regulus/Europropulsion (but also the infrastructure at CSG) isn't set up to support 12 Vegas in addition to a similar number of Ariane per year.
Max output is about ~35 P120C/year. So, theoretically, 5 A64, 5A62, 5 Vega.
Vega Next is intended to be fully liquid & I assume, easier to scale up.
