The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft, due for launch in early 2017, will be built in Britain under a $400 million contract signed Thursday with Astrium. Artist's concept of Solar Orbiter. Credit: ESA ESA and Astrium signed the contract in London during a celebration of the 50th anniversary of British space activity, which began in April 1962 with the launch of the Ariel 1 satellite from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Solar Orbiter will also launch from Cape Canaveral. Liftoff is currently projected in January 2017 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket provided by NASA. "Today, ESA awarded a very important contract in the space science domain to Astrium's spacecraft design and...
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