20 January 2006 - European Space Agency Once a spacecraft is in orbit, engineers have virtually no chance of repairing anything that breaks. But what if a spacecraft could fix itself?
23 December 2005 - Delft University of Technology The ceramic heat shields used on craft like the Space Shuttle require huge amounts of maintenance. That is far less of a problem for metal heat shields. Those currently in development, however, are unable to withstand such high temperatures as their ceramic equivalents. But using water to cool the metal could change that.
10 August 2005 - European Space Agency Space has come down to Earth for this week's legendary Fastnet regatta. Competitor Marc Thiercelin's 20-metre Pro-Form yacht boasts lighter batteries, more efficient solar cells and advanced energy management systems - all spin-offs from Europe's space programmes.
16 June 2005 - European Space Agency Drilling holes on other planets and inventing novel textiles to secure large structures in space are just two of the 27 challenges that expert teams have been working on in the first year of ESA's Innovation Triangle Initiative.
30 June 2003 - European Space Agency 'Europe has a yearly budget of approximately 400 million Euro for space technology research and development. ESA provides half of this budget, while the rest is going through national channels,' said Hans Kappler, ESA Director of Industrial Matters and Technology Programmes. 'It is very obvious this investment has to be harmonised in order to avoid unnecessary duplications of activities and fill strategic gaps.'
