KOUROU, French Guiana - Vega’s return to flight proves new launch service capabilities on an ESA-developed launch vehicle while ensuring continuity of Europe’s guaranteed and independent access to space.
This flight marks the fast and efficient completion of corrective measures and actions carried out by industry with ESA in the lead as the Vega Launch System Qualification Authority, following recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry Commission which analysed the failure of Vega flight VV15 on 10 July 2019.
This is a proof-of-concept flight operated by Arianespace as part of ESA’s Light satellites, Low cost, Launch opportunities (LLL) initiative, decided by the ESA Council at Ministerial level in 2016, to prepare the way for routine services for light satellites using the European launch vehicles Vega/Vega-C and Ariane 6.
The SSMS dispenser is a modular lightweight carbon-fibre structure designed to transport multiple light payloads to space and can be configured very close to launch to carry a range of different quantities and sizes of satellites. This means Vega can offer affordable and convenient launch opportunities for small satellites, without the constraints of travelling as secondary payloads with much larger satellites. Following deployment of the satellites, the dispenser will deorbit to avoid creating space debris.
Small satellites have opened up opportunities for companies and institutional users to access space for research and commercial applications, and are central to the NewSpace economy.Vega carried seven microsatellites weighing from 15 kg to 150 kg, as well as 46 smaller CubeSats all for release into Sun-synchronous orbits at about 515 km and 530 km altitude. The final satellite was released about 104 minutes after liftoff.
About half of the total mass of the 53 satellites aggregated by Arianespace on the launch comes from European States (eight of them are represented) and ESA has contributed to the development of four of them – the 113 kg ESAIL microsatellite and three CubeSats: Simba, Picasso and FSSCat/Φ-sat-1.
