A European Ariane rocket has blasted off from French Guiana in South America carrying supplies to the International Space Station using Swiss technology.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
The launch is considered a landmark by the Swiss company Ruag Space, which has provided the payload faring, the part of the rocket that protects the payload, as well as guidance components, for all 200 Ariane missions.
Constructed by an industrial consortium led by a division of European industrial giant EADS, the unmanned Johannes Kepler vessel is designed to deliver fuel, food, clothing and oxygen to the ISS crew, as well as spare parts.
The vessel takes its name from the 17th century German astronomer and mathematician and is the second Automatic Transfer Vehicle (ATV) that Europe has committed to its participation in the ISS programme.
It was the heaviest payload ever launched aboard an Ariane rocket. A first attempt to launch the rocket was abandoned on Tuesday because of a technical problem.
It is scheduled to dock with the space station on February 24. Ruag Space supplied the payload faring and guidance for the first Ariane launch on Christmas Eve 1979.
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Herschel telescope starts its star trek
This content was published on
Scientists hope that the instrument, which has just been launched into the cosmos from French Guiana, will help increase our understanding of how planets are formed and how the universe works. After several delays over the past months, Herschel and its sister telescope Planck finally blasted off from the Kourou spaceport on board the Ariane…
This content was published on
The issue of errant space rocks has become a disquieting one for some of the world’s top scientists, who in December asked the United Nations for $100 million (SFr112 million) per year to establish detection mechanisms and more for vessels to fend off the danger from space. Astronomers say cataclysmic impacts, such as that which…
This content was published on
Mauro Dell’Ambrogio, who leads the delegation, told swissinfo Switzerland’s precision-parts and high-tech industries will continue to play a critical role in space flight. Ministers from Esa’s 18 member states and representatives from the European Union gather every three years in The Hague to discuss the future of the agency’s space programme. The latest meeting took…
This content was published on
Two new space telescopes launched by the European Space Agency on May 14, are designed peer into deep space for at least the next three years. One of the telescopes, Herschel, has a primary mirror that is four times larger than that on any previous space telescope.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.