NASA Spaceflight
• Haygen Warren
Teams behind the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes have released new images capturing stellar nurseries, galaxies and gravitational lensing. Webb is jointly operated by NASA and the European Space Agency, with the Canadian Space Agency also participating; both observatories contributed to the latest collection.
ESA
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Teams behind the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes have released new images capturing stellar nurseries, galaxies and gravitational lensing. Webb is jointly operated by NASA and the European Space Agency, with the Canadian Space Agency also participating; both observatories contributed to the latest collection.
European Space Agency member governments will meet in Rome on Dec. 15 to discuss investment in a program that would use European hardware to carry astronauts to and from orbit. Securing the one-day meeting is itself a step for Director-General Josef Aschbacher, but the gathering is not expected to produce a financing decision.
L3Harris will design, assemble, integrate and test an all-glass telescope for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a European Space Agency mission expected to launch in the mid-2030s. NASA selected the company for the work, according to one report; another describes the telescope as part of ESA’s mission.
The Italian Space Agency is examining the possibility of building an orbital platform capable of generating artificial gravity. The concept would create an in-space research facility, though the available details do not specify its design, timeline, funding or intended research program.
A European Space Agency study presented at the IAC26 finds that developing a reusable, two-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle is technically and financially feasible for Europe. The proposal encompasses two configurations, putting European launch capability and the investment required to build it on the conference agenda.
High activity
The European Space Agency has released Earth Virtual Expert (EVE), an AI platform designed to make Earth-observation knowledge more accessible and answer Earth science questions. ESA plans to add satellite imagery search in 2027; the release does not specify further capabilities or deployment details.
Under the European Space Agency’s NAVISP Element 2 Programme, UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía is researching whether signals of opportunity from low Earth orbit communications constellations can support resilient navigation for unmanned aircraft systems. The work explores an alternative navigation input for UAS operations.
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