Schenker picked Volocopter after funding the company 87 million euros in a funding round that took place in February. This was one of the largest portions of the total 122 million euros in funding from investors. Schenker believes drones are the future of supply chains for city logistics.

Volocopter is expected to receive full certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency towards the end of 2022.

Source:  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aviation-volocopter/air-taxi-firm-volocopter-teams-up-with-schenker-to-deploy-heavy-lift-drones-idUKKCN26C0SI

The next Soyuz launch is planned as soon as December 2020 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

Pursuant to an amended launch contract with OneWeb, the London-based communications company, Arianespace will perform 16 more Soyuz launches from three spaceports (Kourou, Baikonur and Vostochny) beginning in late 2020 and continuing through 2022. These launches will enable OneWeb to complete the deployment of its full global constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites by the end of 2022.

The next Soyuz flight is scheduled for December 2020 from Vostochny with 36 satellites on board.

Arianespace has launched 74 OneWeb satellites to date. The initial six were successfully orbited by Soyuz Flight VS21 from French Guiana on February, 2019. In February and March, 2020, Arianespace and its Starsem affiliate successfully launched 68 OneWeb satellites from Baikonur on Soyuz Flights ST27 and ST28.

OneWeb’s goal is to deliver global connectivity from a network of 650 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that will provide high-bandwidth, low latency communication services to regions previously unconnected.

In addition to the satellites, OneWeb’s global network will include gateway stations located around the world, and a range of user terminals will provide connectivity services for fixed and mobile communications. These terminals will be compatible with the future needs of the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G.

OneWeb Satellites - a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space - is the constellation’s prime contractor. The OneWeb satellites are built in OneWeb Satellites’ Florida-based series production line that is dedicated to the assembly, integration, and test of OneWeb’s satellites.

Source:  Arianespace
Associated URL: arianespace.com

With launch planned in 2027, CRISTAL will carry an advanced multi-frequency altimeter that will measure sea ice thickness and ice sheet elevations. These data will support maritime operations in polar oceans and contribute to a better understanding of climate processes. CRISTAL will also support applications related to coastal and inland waters and the observation of ocean topography.

Six fixed and two deployable solar arrays - 18.6 m² in total - ensure enough power on a drifting polar orbit at 760km above the Earth. Its on-board memory will be able to store up to 4 terabits of science data at once, providing scientists with a wealth of information during its 7.5 year lifetime. The Airbus Defence and Space site in Friedrichshafen (Germany) will head an industrial consortium involving companies from 19 countries to deliver the project, including Thales Alenia Space to provide the IRIS Interferometric Radar Altimeter.

The 1.7 ton spacecraft is based on a proven, robust Airbus satellite design building on the heritage from Sentinel-6 and CryoSat.

Overall, Airbus is responsible for the spacecraft or payload on 3 of the 6 new generation Copernicus Environment and Earth observation missions: LSTM, CRISTAL and Rose-L, and is providing critical equipment to all six.

Source:  Airbus
Associated URL: airbus.com