(ORDO NEWS) — Launch vehicle integration for the first Vega-C flight began with the delivery of the P120C solid-fuel first stage to the Vega launch zone (Zone de Lancement Vega, or ZLV) at the European launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, on April 15, 2022.
The P120C will also be used on the Ariane 6, with two or four upper stages being used depending on mission requirements.
An interstage segment to connect the P120C first stage to the Z40 second stage followed on the 22nd.
In flight VV21, the main payload will be LARES-2, a scientific mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Also on board will be six European CubeSat research satellites.
Following the success of the Vega, Member States agreed at the December 2014 ESA Ministerial to develop a more powerful Vega-C to meet the emerging market and long-term institutional needs.
Vega-C increases capacity from 1.5t to about 2.2t in a reference polar orbit of 700 km and increases the amount of payload available to meet the needs of certain European institutional users on missions without increasing launch service and operating costs.
The states participating in this development are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.