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Vega C, or Vega Consolidation, is an expendable small-lift launch vehicle operated by Arianespace and developed and produced by Avio. It is an evolution of the original Vega launcher, designed to offer greater launch performance and flexibility. Development began after the December 2014 ESA Ministerial Council to address the need to accommodate larger institutional payloads and compete with more affordable launch providers.[1]

Like its predecessor, Vega C is designed to launch small satellites for scientific and Earth observation missions to polar and low Earth orbits.[2] The reference Vega C mission is a polar orbit bringing a spacecraft of 2,300 kilograms (5,100 lb) to an altitude of 700 kilometres (430 mi), an increase of 800 kg (1,800 lb) over the original. The rocket, named after Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra,[3] is a single-body launcher (no strap-on boosters) with three solid and one liquid stage. The lead manufacturer to the Vega program is from Italy, but the rocket has significant contributions from companies based in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.

The Vega C incorporates several key improvements over the original Vega. The first-stage motor is replaced by the more potent P120C, a shared propulsion system with the Ariane 6 launcher. The second stage is the more powerful Zefiro 40, while the AVUM+ upper stage has more propellant than the original. The Zefiro 9 third stage remains unchanged.[4]

Vega rockets are launched from the ELV launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre. Vega C's maiden flight on 13 July 2022 successfully delivered LARES 2 and six other satellites to orbit.[5] However, the second launch on 21 December 2022 experienced a failure of the Zefiro 40 second stage, resulting in the loss of two Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging satellites.[6] Consequently, the next launch was delayed until late 2024 to allow for the rocket motor nozzle to be redesigned.[7]

Specifications

Stages

Stages[8] Stage 1
P120C 		Stage 2
Zefiro 40 		Stage 3
Zefiro 9 		Stage 4
AVUM+
Height 13.38 m (43 ft 11 in) 8.07 m (26 ft 6 in) 4.12 m (13 ft 6 in) 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
Diameter 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in)
Propellant type Solid Solid Solid Liquid
Gross mass 155,027 kg (341,776 lb) 40,477 kg (89,237 lb) 12,000 kg (26,000 lb) 1,436 kg (3,166 lb)
Propellant mass 141,634 kg (312,250 lb) 36,239 kg (79,893 lb) 10,567 kg (23,296 lb) 740 kg (1,630 lb)
Average thrust 4,323 kN (972,000 lbf) 1,304 kN (293,000 lbf) 317 kN (71,000 lbf) 2.45 kN (550 lbf)
Burn time (sec.) 135.7 92.9 119.6 924.8 (up to 5 burns)[b]
Specific impulse 279 s (2.74 km/s) 293.5 s (2.878 km/s) 295.9 s (2.902 km/s) 315.8 s (3.097 km/s)

Main suppliers

Building the Vega is a European multi-national effort led by Avio of Italy, which manages Vega development and oversees production as the prime contractor, and also builds the Zefiro 40, Zefiro 9 and AVUM+ stages. Europropulsion, a 50-50 joint venture of Avio and ArianeGroup, builds the P120C first stage. Dutch Space of the Netherlands builds the interstage between the first and second stages. CIRA builds the interstage between the second and third stages. RUAG of Switzerland builds the payload fairing. SABCA of Belgium builds the thrust vector control systems.[8]

Payload

Arianespace had indicated that the Vega launcher is able to carry 2,300 kg (5,100 lb) to a circular polar orbit at an altitude of 700 km (430 mi).[9]

Because of its ability to carry heavier payloads, RUAG Space of Switzerland had to redesign the fairing of the Vega C.

The fairing is 3.3 m (11 ft) in diameter and over 9 m (30 ft) tall, which offers nearly double the payload volume of the original Vega, which had a fairing of 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) in diameter and over 7.8 m (26 ft) tall.[10]

Ascent timeline

This is a timeline of a typical Vega C ascent profile and associated sequence of events that includes two AVUM+ boosts. However, the flight profile is optimized for each mission.

Event[8] Time
(sec.) 		Altitude
km (mi) 		Velocity
m/s (ft/s)
P120C ignition & lift-off 0 0 0
P120C burn-out & separation, Zefiro 40 ignition 142 60 (37) 1,885 (6,180)
Zefiro 40 burn-out & separation 245 121 (75) 4,555 (14,940)
Zefiro 9 ignition 249 123 (76) 4,550 (14,900)
Fairing jettisoning 254 126 (78) 4,600 (15,000)
Zefiro 9 separation 417 190 (120) 7,564 (24,820)
AVUM+ 1st ignition 448 199 (124) 7,553 (24,780)
AVUM+ 1st cut-off 1,090 300 (190) 7,885 (25,870)
AVUM+ 2nd ignition 3,151 619 (385) 7,533 (24,710)
AVUM+ 2nd cut-off 3,287 623 (387) 7,631 (25,040)
Spacecraft separation 3,427 626 (389) 7,627 (25,020)

Future

Building on Vega C, Vega E (or Vega Evolution) is a further evolution of the Vega C with the Zefiro 9 and AVUM+ third and fourth stage replaced with a cryogenic upper stage powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane. This variant offers even more flexibility than Vega C, with the ability to deliver multiple satellites into different orbits on a single launch.

As of March 2021 Avio is finalizing the development of the new M10 methane engine used in the new upper stage. The engine design is the result of a collaboration between Avio and Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (KBKhA) ended in 2014.[11][4]

Avio successfully conducted the first series of testing of the M10 engine between May and July 2022[12] with the maiden flight of the Vega-E planned for 2027.[13]

List of launches

Launch history

2022

Flight Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Payload mass Orbit Customers Launch
Outcome
VV21 13 July 2022
13:13:17[14] 		Vega-C ELV
  • LARES 2
  • ALPHA
  • AstroBio CubeSat
  • CELESTA
  • GreenCube
  • MTCube-2
  • TRISAT-R
 350 kg (770 lb) MEO Success
First flight of Vega-C
VV22 21 December 2022
01:47:31[15] 		Vega-C ELV Pléiades-Neo 5 • Pléiades-Neo 6 (VHR-2020 3/4) 1,977 kg (4,359 lb) SSO Airbus Defence and Space Failure
Earth observation satellites[16] Failure due to loss of pressure of the Zefiro 40 second stage.[17]

2024

Future launches

This section is transcluded from List of Vega launches. ( | history)

2024

Date / time (UTC) [18] Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Orbit
4 September 2024
01:50[19] 		Vega ELV Sentinel-2C SSO
Final flight of the base Vega configuration. Third Sentinel-2 Earth observation satellite.
15 November 2024 [20] Vega-C ELV Sentinel-1C SSO
Third Sentinel-1 satellite. Return to flight for Vega-C following the VV22 launch failure.[21]
December 2024[22] Vega-C ELV KOMPSAT-6 (Arirang-6) SSO
Earth observation satellite.

2025

Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Orbit
Q1 2025[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #9 LEO
SSMS #9 rideshare mission. Delayed due to the VV22 Vega-C launch failure.[21]
Q2 2025[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #7 SSO
SSMS #7 rideshare mission.
Q3 2025[24] Vega-C[25] ELV Sentinel-3C SSO
Third Sentinel-3 Earth observation satellite.[26]
Q3 2025[27] Vega-C ELV Space Rider LEO
Technology demonstration[28]
Q3 2025[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #13 SSO
SSMS #13 rideshare mission.
November 2025[29] Vega-C ELV PLATiNO-2 / MAIA SSO
PLATiNO-2 will host the MAIA instrument payload.
Q4 2025[30] Vega-C ELV IRIDE × ? LEO
First launch for the Italian IRIDE Earth observation satellite constellation.
Q4 2025[30] Vega-C ELV IRIDE × ? LEO
Second launch for the Italian IRIDE Earth observation satellite constellation.
Q4 2025[31] Vega-C ELV SMILE HEO
Joint Chinese-European Earth observation satellite.
2025[32] Vega-C ELV EAGLE-1 LEO
Demonstrator satellite for the first European sovereign space-based quantum key distribution system.
2025[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #8 SSO
SSMS #8 rideshare mission.
2025[25] Vega-C ELV Sentinel-1D SSO
Fourth Sentinel-1 satellite.
2025[33] Vega-C ELV BIOMASS SSO
Earth observation satellite. Part of the Living Planet Programme.
TBD[34] Vega-C ELV PLATiNO-1 SSO
Earth observation satellite.
2025[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #6 SSO
SSMS #6 rideshare mission.
2025[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #10 SSO
SSMS #10 rideshare mission.
2025[35] Vega-C ELV CO3D × 4 SSO
Earth observation satellites
2025[36] Vega-C ELV CSG-3 SSO
Third COSMO-SkyMed 2nd Generation satellite.
2025[37] Vega-C ELV MicroCarb SSO
Earth observation satellite.
2025[38][39] Vega-C[40] ELV SHALOM SSO
Joint Italian-Israeli hyperspectral imaging satellite.

2026

Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Orbit
January 2026[41] Vega-C ELV KOMPSAT-7 (Arirang-7) SSO
Earth observation satellite[42][43]
Q2 2026[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #14 SSO
SSMS #14 rideshare mission.
Q3 2026[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #15 LEO
SSMS #15 rideshare mission to an equatorial orbit.
Q3 2026[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #16 LEO
SSMS #16 rideshare mission to an equatorial orbit.
Q4 2026[24] Vega-C[25] ELV CO2M-A (Sentinel-7A) SSO
Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
2026[44] Vega-C ELV ALTIUS, FLEX SSO
ALTIUS is an ozone observation satellite. FLEX is an Earth observation satellite of the Living Planet Programme.
2026[45] Vega-C ELV ClearSpace-1 LEO
Space debris removal demo.
2026[46] Vega-C ELV CSG-4 SSO
Fourth COSMO-SkyMed 2nd Generation satellite.

2027

Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Orbit
Q1 2027[24] Vega-C[25] ELV CO2M-B (Sentinel-7B) SSO
Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
Q2 2027[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #17 LEO
SSMS #17 rideshare mission.
2027[47][48] Vega-C [49] ELV FORUM SSO
Earth observation satellite. Part of the Living Planet Programme.
2027[50] Vega-E ELV LEO
Maiden flight of Vega-E.

2028

Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Orbit
Q2 2028[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #18 LEO
SSMS #18 rideshare mission.
Q4 2028[24] Vega-C[51] ELV CRISTAL (Sentinel-9) Polar
Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
Q4 2028[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #19 LEO
SSMS #19 rideshare mission.
2028[24] Vega-C[52] ELV Sentinel-3D SSO
Fourth Sentinel-3 Earth observation satellite.[26]

2029

Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Orbit
Q2 2029[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #20 LEO
SSMS #20 rideshare mission.
Q3 2029[24] Vega-C[53] ELV CIMR-A (Sentinel-11A) SSO
Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
Q4 2029[23] Vega-C ELV SSMS #21 LEO
SSMS #21 rideshare mission.
2029[53] Vega-C ELV CHIME (Sentinel-10) SSO
Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
2029[53] Vega-C ELV LSTM (Sentinel-8) SSO
Copernicus Land Surface Temperature Monitoring. Part of the Copernicus Programme.

2030

Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Orbit
2030[54] Vega-C ELV TRUTHS LEO
Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio-Studies.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The lead manufacturer is from Italy, but the rocket has significant contributions from companies based in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.
  2. ^ a b Engines can burn up to 612.5 seconds per burn and can burn up to five times. Maximum cumulative burn time of 924.8 seconds.

References

  1. ^ "Media backgrounder for ESA Council at Ministerial Level". esa.int. ESA. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  2. ^ Amos, Jonathan (13 February 2012). "Vega launcher makes first flight". BBC News. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  3. ^ Tariq Malik (13 February 2012). "Europe Launches New Vega Rocket on Maiden Voyage". Space.com. Retrieved 29 May 2014. The Italian-built Vega rocket is named after the second-brightest star in the northern hemisphere
  4. ^ a b "VEGA C". Avio. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  5. ^ European Space Agency, ed. (2022-07-13). "Vega-C successfully completes inaugural flight". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  6. ^ "Europe's Vega C rocket fails on 2nd-ever mission, 2 satellites lost". Space.com. 21 December 2022.
  7. ^ Foust, Jeff (October 2, 2023). "ESA delays Vega C return to flight to late 2024". Spacenews.
  8. ^ a b c "Vega C Users Manual" (PDF). Arianespace. May 2018. p. 1-6. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  9. ^ "Vega C Overview". Arianespace.
  10. ^ "Vega-C". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  11. ^ Bellomi, P.; Rudnykh, M.; Carapellese, S.; Liuzzi, D.; Caggiano, G.; Arione, L.; Gurtovoy, A.A.; Lobov, S.D.; Rachuk, V. S.; D'Aversa, E.; De Lillis, A.; Pellegrini, R. C. (2019-02-08). "Development of LM10-MIRA liquid oxygen – liquid natural gas expander cycle demonstrator engine". Progress in Propulsion Physics – Volume 11. pp. 447–466. Bibcode:2019EUCAS..11..447B. doi:10.1051/eucass/201911447. ISBN 978-5-94588-228-7. S2CID 139531422. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  12. ^ "First Half 2022 Financial Report". Avio (Press release). 9 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  13. ^ "First Half 2023 Financial Report" (PDF). Avio. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  14. ^ Atkinson, Ian (13 July 2022). "ESA launches upgraded Vega-C rocket on first mission". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  15. ^ Clark, Stephen (21 December 2022). "Two Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging satellites lost in failure of Europe's Vega C rocket". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  16. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Pléiades-Neo 1, 2, 3, 4 (VHR-2020 1, 2, 3, 4)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  17. ^ Foust, Jeff (2023-03-03). "Nozzle erosion blamed for Vega C launch failure". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference sworld.com.au was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Arianespace to launch Europe's Copernicus Earth Observation Program Sentinel-2C satellite on September 3". Arianespace. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  20. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (11 January 2024). "ESA Targets 15 November for Vega C Return to Flight Mission". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  21. ^ a b Foust, Jeff (3 March 2023). "Nozzle erosion blamed for Vega C launch failure". SpaceNews. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  22. ^ "Arianespace will launch Kompsat-6 with Vega C for Korea Aerospace Research Institute". Arianespace (Press release). 31 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "All flights opportunities". Arianespace. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  24. ^ a b c d e f "Planned launches". EUMETSAT. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  25. ^ a b c d "Arianespace supporting the European Union's Copernicus programme with Vega C". Arianespace (Press release). 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  26. ^ a b Krebs, Gunter (7 July 2020). "Sentinel 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  27. ^ Richards, Bella (26 August 2023). "ESA's Space Rider likely to launch third quarter of 2025, program manager says". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  28. ^ Messier, Doug (12 April 2018). "Announcement of Opportunity to Fly Payloads on ESA's Space Rider". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  29. ^ "NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program" (PDF). NASA. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Arianespace awarded new Vega C launches for the IRIDE programme". Arianespace (Press release). 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  31. ^ "Smiles all round: Vega-C to launch ESA solar wind mission". ESA. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  32. ^ "SES Selects Arianespace to Launch EAGLE-1 Satellite for Europe's Quantum Cryptography". Arianespace (Press release). 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  33. ^ "Bye-Bye Biomass: forest monitoring satellite departs for final testing before launch". Airbus. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Arianespace to launch PLATiNO 1 & 2 on Vega and Vega C". Arianespace (Press release). 6 January 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  35. ^ "CO3D". CNES (in French). 16 October 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  36. ^ "Satellite: CSG-3". WMO. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  37. ^ "MicroCarb". CNES. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  38. ^ "Agenzia Spaziale Italiana Annual Report 2020" (PDF). ASI. 30 August 2021. p. 31. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  39. ^ "Piano Triennale delle Attività 2021-2023" [Three-year Plan of Activities 2021-2023] (PDF). ASI (in Italian). 10 March 2021. p. 50. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  40. ^ "Dal 2022 in orbita il satellite dalla super-vista" [Hyperspectral satellite to orbit in 2022]. ANSA (in Italian). 3 July 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  41. ^ "Vega-C - KOMPSAT-7". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  42. ^ "Arianespace to launch KOMPSAT-7 for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) using a Vega-C launch vehicle". Arianespace. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  43. ^ "CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MISSION SUMMARY - KOMPSAT-7". The CEOS Database. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  44. ^ "ALTIUS - ESA's ozone mission". ESA. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  45. ^ Rainbow, Jason (19 January 2023). "ClearSpace raises $29 million ahead of first debris removal mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  46. ^ "Satellite: CSG-4". WMO. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  47. ^ "Contract secures design for ESA's FORUM satellite". ESA. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  48. ^ Status of the Current and Future ESA Earth Observation Missions and Programmes. CGMS-49. ESA. 14 May 2021. pp. 33–37. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via the Internet Archive.
  49. ^ "Earth Explorer 9 Candidate Mission FORUM – Report for Mission Selection" (PDF). ESA. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  50. ^ "2023 half-year financial report" (PDF). Avio. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  51. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (23 September 2020). "Airbus signs $350 million contract to build CRISTAL ice-monitoring satellite for EU". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  52. ^ Henry, Caleb (10 February 2016). "ESA Awards Sentinel 3C and D Satellite Contracts to Thales Alenia Space". Via Satellite. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  53. ^ a b c Parsonson, Andrew (13 November 2020). "ESA signs a trio of Copernicus contracts worth 1.3 billion euros". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  54. ^ "TRUTHS". ESA. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
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