James Webb space telescope ISIM on 'spin cycle'

Prior to taking a new telescope into space, engineers must put the spacecraft and its instruments through a "spin cycle" test for durability to ensure they'll still work after experiencing the forces of a rocket launch. Finding ...

GOCE giving new insights into Earth's gravity (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The first global gravity model based on GOCE satellite data has been presented at ESA's Living Planet Symposium. ESA launched GOCE in March 2009 to map Earth's gravity with unprecedented accuracy and resolution.

Taking gravity from strength to strength

Ten years ago, ESA launched one of its most innovative satellites. GOCE spent four years measuring a fundamental force of nature: gravity. This extraordinary mission not only yielded new insights into our gravity field, but ...

Smoother and safer flying

Flying through a patch of severe and unexpected turbulence is an unforgettable, unsettling and sometimes painful experience for tens of thousands of passengers each year.

Gravity waves influence weather and climate

Gravity waves form in the atmosphere as a result of destabilizing processes, for example at weather fronts, during storms or when air masses stroke over mountain ranges. They can occasionally be seen in the sky as bands of ...

Engineers consider how to collect dust from low-gravity surfaces

Analysing the dusty layers of low-gravity moons or asteroids using robots is on the agenda for ESA's exploration of the Solar System. Engineers are thinking of ways to collect and analyse the surface dust on far-away worlds. ...

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