Europe

Q. Airbus has laid bare its hydrogen ambition. Does this mean hydrogen is the answer to aviation’s carbon problem? At Airbus, we’ve been clear from the beginning: there’s no “silver bullet” solution to decarbonising aviation. The aviation industry has set itself some ambitious targets to reduce its CO₂ emissions. But these targets don’t go far enough,

The second European Service Module’s (ESM) flight model is well into the integration test phase as Airbus readies it for the initial Orion mission with astronauts – which will fly around the Moon and return to Earth. Performed at Airbus Defence and Space’s facility in Bremen, Germany, the ESM-2’s validations already completed include gimbal testing

During the development phase of new aircraft configurations, engineering teams need to verify that in-flight structure and systems behaviour and performance matches that of computer simulations. By placing individual components, small-scale models or whole full-sized parts in a wind tunnel, previously calculated assumptions can be validated. “The EcoPulse wind tunnel tests allowed us to evaluate

Munich, 8 April 2021 – Airbus and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have launched a programme to develop a laser communication terminal demonstrator for aircraft, known as UltraAir. The project, which is co-financed by Airbus, TNO and the Netherlands Space Office (NSO), is part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ScyLight (Secure and

Airbus’ fully reconfigurable, high-capacity OneSat satellite takes major step forward Support from ESA, UKSA and CNES stimulates innovation in European industry, enhancing space solutions Commercial success of Airbus telecom satellite products OneSat and Eurostar Neo, help preserve European sovereignty, competitiveness and jobs Toulouse, 21 April 2021 – Airbus has passed an important milestone for the

Airbus built satellite to start environmental tests Friedrichshafen, 27 April 2021 – JUICE, the JUpiter ICy moons Explorer mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA), has left Airbus’ satellite integration centre in Friedrichshafen (Germany) and is now on its way to the Large Space Simulator (LSS) chamber of the European Space Agency (ESA) in

Start of a new era for Airbus and geospatial applications Toulouse, 29 April 2021 – The first satellite of the Pléiades Neo constellation was safely delivered in orbit by Arianespace’s European launcher Vega, from French Guiana last night. First telemetry signals were received this morning and the solar arrays are deployed. The early orbit phase

Contracts range from consultancy to upgraded hardware and new terminals SMEs benefitting from greater engagement Covering land, air, sea, space and cyber domains Stevenage, 05 May 2021 – Airbus has been awarded a series of contracts during the first quarter of 2021 from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) both as part of its continuing

The two Sentinel-1 satellites that orbit the Earth are generating vast amounts of imagery with C-band radars – delivering trillions of data bytes every month. After their launches in 2014 and 2016, these spacecraft – which are equipped with Airbus-built synthetic aperture radar instruments – have provided users with imaging data for such applications as

Five Astrocast nanosatellites were successfully deployed in low-Earth orbit earlier this year and will be the first to deliver commercial services. They follow two precursor satellites launched in 2018 and 2019. Another set of five will be launched during this summer, after which Astrocast is aiming to launch 20 to 30 satellites annually. “This is

After the launch of the programme in early 2018, VSR700 underwent an initial series of tests, trying the aircraft’s basic functions. It has since seen numerous advancements, as the system performed its first fully autonomous take-off and landing over a moving platform in late 2020. What’s next for VSR700? “In 2021, one of our key

In the telecoms domain, for example, Airbus is pioneering new types of satellites like Eutelsat Quantum and OneSat. For the first time, operators are able to completely change what their satellites do in orbit by reprogramming them to adjust the coverage area and frequency band – allowing them to serve any region, as well as

The rear fuselage: Based on an Airbus Helicopters patent, the Racer rear fuselage has been a challenge for the Airbus Helicopters teams in Spain, supported by the Outcome consortium led by Aernnova, for its dimensions, weight target and its asymmetric cross-section profile, designed to optimise hover performances without penalizing the forward and cruise flights phases. Likewise,

A new era for geospatial applications Toulouse, 20 May 2021 – Today, Airbus released a first collection of sharp images at 30cm native resolution from the Pléiades Neo 3 satellite, recently safely launched and secured in orbit. The successful acquisitions and delivery of these first images are the start of a new era for both

Marignane, 26 April 2021 – Airbus is introducing autonomous features to its helicopter Flightlab through a project code-named Vertex. These technologies aim to simplify mission preparation and management, reduce helicopter pilot workload, and further increase safety. The autonomous technology bricks set to integrate the Flightlab are: vision based sensors and algorithms for situational awareness and obstacle

After delivery of the huge satellite structure, work can begin on the first MetOp SG-B weather satellite Friedrichshafen, 25 May 2021 – It is six metres high, more than three metres wide, and weighs just over a tonne, and it forms the backbone of the new, second generation of polar-orbiting weather satellites. The structure for

Providing ultra-secure communication for critical infrastructures and government institutions  Brussels, 31 May 2021 – The European Commission has selected a consortium of companies and research institutes to study the design of the future European quantum communication network, EuroQCI (quantum communication infrastructure). It will enable ultra-secure communication between critical infrastructures and government institutions across the European

Nano-level coating can protect satellites in low-Earth orbit from ultraviolet radiation and atomic oxygen Stevenage/Friedrichshafen, 15 February 2021 – Airbus Defence and Space and the Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, have developed a breakthrough nano-barrier that can protect satellites in low-Earth orbit from ultraviolet radiation and atomic oxygen. Atomic oxygen (O) is created when

NASA’s Perseverance rover relies on Airbus built weather station and communications antenna Madrid, 16 February 2021 – When NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on the surface of the Red Planet next Thursday, key Airbus technology will be on board: the MEDA meteorological station will provide scientists with valuable Mars weather data and the High Gain Antenna

The ISMA team’s work covers three main areas. The first is manufacturing via 3D printers, which can use metal, and later regolith (Moon dust), or recycle manmade objects already in space as source material to print new parts. Examples include radiation shielding, tooling, equipment, rovers and habitats. By the end of this decade, printers could

German Aerospace Center’s COMPASSO mission to fly on new ISS external platform Bartolomeo from end-2024 Highly stable laser-optical clocks are fundamental for improved satellite navigation and inter-satellite links Bremen/Friedrichshafen/Cologne, 19 February 2021– The Galileo Competence Center of the German Aerospace Center (DLR-GK) and Airbus have signed a €16.8 Mio contract for the hosting of DLR’s

The dedicated ACJ team is already prepared to meet this demand, capitalizing on Airbus innovations, putting the customer at the heart, developing solutions unique to each client : In 2020, they delivered the first ACJ350  with “easyfit” provisions, which pre-equip the carbon fibre fuselage of the VIP widebody with attachments points, greatly simplifying the work

PERIOD consortium to prepare concept for in-orbit demonstrator In-space antenna and satellite assembly: first steps towards space manufacturing Bremen, 11 March 2021 – Airbus has been selected by the European Commission to study spacecraft manufacturing in space through the Horizon 2020 Programme. The PERIOD (PERASPERA In-Orbit Demonstration) project focuses on satellite assembly and manufacturing in orbit.

“As engineers in the aviation industry, I like to think that we are well placed to extend our influence far beyond ourselves, by minimising the footprint of our aircraft used by so many around the world” said Toby Wells, Sustainable Aviation Fuels project leader. At the heart of the decarbonisation roadmap, Toby is working to

Latest milestone achieved on integration of the Jupiter probe JUICE Friedrichshafen, 16 March 2021 – JUICE, the European Space Agency’s JUpiter ICy moons Explorer mission, has successfully passed its latest milestone: space engineers at Airbus’ satellite integration centre in Friedrichshafen (Germany) have attached the magnetometer boom (MAGBOOM) to the spacecraft. The MAGBOOM carries five magnetically

Testing activities at E-Aircraft Systems are carried out at two distinct facilities, depending on the level of voltage: Medium-voltage testing: This facility is dedicated to testing the electric powertrain of helicopter-size aircraft, such as eVTOLs.   High-voltage testing: This facility is dedicated to testing the motors and engines of passenger-size commercial aircraft.   “Airbus is spearheading several

Stevenage, 18 March 2021 – The Airbus led space industry consortium in competition  to support the future operations of military satellite communications to the UK MOD is focusing on the UK’s prosperity agenda with a target of 30% SME (small and medium sized enterprises) engagement. The consortium, comprising KBR, Leidos UK, Northrop Grumman and QinetiQ

Eighth order confirms success of Eurostar Neo for GEO market 26th satellite ordered by Eutelsat from Airbus Paris, 22 March 2021 - Airbus has been selected by Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satellites operators, to build EUTELSAT 36D, a new generation multi-mission geostationary telecommunications satellite. The EUTELSAT 36D spacecraft will replace and enhance capacity at 36°East, a

“I always had a natural curiosity for anything related to science and engineering. After getting my masters I decided to start working in aeronautics—a fun, challenging industry. You see what it does for you in daily life, and I wanted to be a part of that. On the CityAirbus demonstrator, I’ve worked on the avionics

30cm imagery from Airbus is coming to market Step-change for Airbus geo-intelligence service offering Comprehensive data and application suite with OneAtlas digital platform Toulouse, 24 March 2021 – The first two Airbus-built Pléiades Neo imaging satellites have arrived at Cayenne airport, French Guiana and are now en route to the European Space Centre in Kourou.