Associated Press
• Marcia Dunn
The linked European and Japanese spacecraft have separated from their transfer module and begun the final phase of their journey to Mercury after nearly eight years in the inner solar system. BepiColombo is expected to enter orbit in November before the spacecraft split in December to study the planet from different altitudes.
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The linked European and Japanese spacecraft have separated from their transfer module and begun the final phase of their journey to Mercury after nearly eight years in the inner solar system. BepiColombo is expected to enter orbit in November before the spacecraft split in December to study the planet from different altitudes.
The European-Japanese BepiColombo mission is set to begin its extended arrival phase at Mercury on Sept. 3, marking a major milestone in the spacecraft’s journey to the innermost planet. The event will be broadcast live, offering visibility into the mission’s next critical stage.
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Astroscale Japan has signed Isar Aerospace to launch ADRAS-J2 aboard a Spectrum rocket, targeting the capture and removal of a spent upper stage from orbit. Separately, NorthStar is leading FALCON, a new ESA-backed project focused on improving predictions of uncontrolled re-entries after recent debris incidents in Europe.
Polish space technology company Creotech Instruments has signed a €13.9 million ($16 million) contract with the European Space Agency to comprehensively implement SAWA, Poland’s second space-weather nanosatellite mission. The project is also described as the country’s first “mission-as-a-service” initiative, expanding Poland’s role in European space programs.
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OHB has won a contract worth more than $1 billion to build the MEO satellite layer of Europe’s IRIS² constellation. Separate agreements cover Italy’s PRISMA Second Generation, constellr’s HiVE thermal-imaging platforms and ESA’s FALCON consortium for tracking uncontrolled atmospheric reentries.
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The European Space Agency has awarded the first contracts under its European Launcher Challenge, committing €543.6 million to three European rocket startups. The initiative is intended to broaden Europe’s launch options beyond Ariane 6 and Vega-C, expanding the region’s commercial launch ecosystem.
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The European Space Agency has awarded €543.6 million in three-year European Launcher Challenge contracts to Isar Aerospace, PLD Space and Rocket Factory Augsburg, with a MaiaSpace agreement expected to follow. All three selected providers had previously targeted inaugural orbital flights in 2026.
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NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot completed a follow-up spacewalk on Aug. 25, successfully installing a replacement Space-to-Ground Antenna that had failed aboard the International Space Station. The operation followed their earlier removal of the faulty unit and was intended to restore communications capability.
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