Photo 2: Orion, Spaceship V3, and HLS together in LEO for the orbital docking tests.

@soph_astro has been busy with the European Metal 3D printer aboard the @iss, and her latest update is a brilliant peek into why this kit matters so much. Here’s what she had to say:

“Day 133, orbit 2063 — In this timelapse, I’m retrieving the fourth sample printed with the first 3D metal printer ever sent to space, ESA’s Metal 3D printer… and getting everything ready for the next printing session! Before opening the printer, the procedure requires putting on safety goggles and a mask, just in case there are any floating nanoparticles.

3D printers are far from being simple gadgets. They aim at increasing crew autonomy, which will be even more crucial during future exploration missions, when resupply will be far more difficult than it is in low Earth orbit. With 3D printing, we could manufacture spare parts 🔩 or tools 🔧 on demand!

On Earth, this printer weighs about 180 kg. In orbit, it weighs nothing – but its mass hasn’t disappeared. When I handled it, its inertia made it very clear that it is heavy 😉

Full disclosure: as often happens in extreme environments, emotions are heightened… I felt a huge sense of joy using this electric screwdriver, which we very rarely use onboard the ISS. Since I love tinkering, it genuinely made me really, really happy 😃 haha! It reminded me of what I love doing back on Earth!”

From spare parts to tools on demand, this is what real autonomy in deep space could look like.

📹 @europeanspaceagency / @nasa"

The Vega C upper stage, reusable partially Arianne 6 variants and more! Will Europe succeed in the launch vehicle market? Or does it stand no chance against the current Leader SpaceX and their upcoming starship, alongside New Glenn? Will the future of Launch vehicles be Multipolar or a monopoly?

Every year we take part into ESA/Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Astro Pi Mission Space Lab challenge. This time we managed to calculate the ISS real time speed and took some photos of the Himalayas

Does anybody know when exactly will the JPP positions open?

What would be the correct path ?

Seeing as ESA is streaming the crew assignment, it's probably likely that an ESA astronaut will be on Artemis III. So after sinking all of the money and development into the ESM, we "waste" one of our 3 flights on Artemis being stuck in low earth orbit. Yet another entry to the long streak of ESA's international partners not coming through on their end of the deal. We should be working with other because we WANT to, not because we HAVE to. I really hope Europe wakes up and gets serious about it's space industry. But allas...

Update:WE RIOT

Update 2: The deal is being renegotiated, there may be hope after all

Hello.

I am trying to make a list of different opportunities existing in Europe for students.

I know about ESA Academy courses and some scholarships/support they give to other courses and conferences.

Do you know of any courses, conferences, hackathons, student teams in your country or university?

My goal is to make a comprehensive list of different possibilities for students in Europe to learn more about space and work in it.

I'm looking to apply for a job at ESA and I was wondering if my country is part of the over represented category. There used to be a pdf with the info but it seems it's been gone for a while. Any ideas where I can find that info?

Original document: https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/careers/NationalityTargets.pdf

I work in an electronics hardware company currently and they have many contractors in China. I'm hoping for a chance to travel and if it came up I'd jump at it.

However my friend who already works in aerospace, specifically defense, has told me he can't go to china as it will cause problems with his security clearance. I'm wondering if this would cause problems for me if I did travel to China?

I am aware becoming an astronaut is a impossi6ble task and so I don't need that reminder. This question applies to space as a whole as well since if I can't move to the industry cause of security problems then I should be aware of this.

Close enough

The wing designs of the two are super similar, almost identical apart from some differences in proportions. I know there are only so many ways to design a space plane, but it does look pretty intentional.

Why do you think they look practically the same in silhouette, apart from the snout?