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Vega C

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Vega C
Model of Vega C at Paris Air Show 2015
FunctionSmall-lift launch vehicle
ManufacturerAvio
Country of originEuropean multi-national[a]
Size
Height34.8 m (114 ft)
Diameter3.4 m (11 ft)
Mass210,000 kg (460,000 lb)
Stages4
Capacity
Payload to SSO
Altitude700 km (430 mi)
Orbital inclination90°
Mass2,300 kg (5,100 lb)
Payload to polar orbit
Altitude500 km (310 mi)
Orbital inclination88°
Mass2,250 kg (4,960 lb)
Payload to equatorial elliptical orbit
Altitudeapogee: 5,700 km (3,500 mi)
perigee: 250 km (160 mi)
Orbital inclination6°
Mass1,700 kg (3,700 lb)
Associated rockets
FamilyVega
Comparable
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesGuiana Space Centre, ELV
Total launches2
Success(es)1
Failure(s)1 (VV22)
First flight13 July 2022
Last flight21 December 2022
First stage – P120C
Height13.38 m (43.9 ft)
Diameter3.4 m (11 ft)
Gross mass155,027 kg (341,776 lb)
Propellant mass141,634 kg (312,250 lb)
Maximum thrust4,323 kN (972,000 lbf)
Specific impulse279 s (2.74 km/s)
Burn time135.7 seconds
PropellantHTPB / AP / Al
Second stage – Zefiro 40
Height8.07 m (26.5 ft)
Diameter2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Gross mass40,477 kg (89,237 lb)
Propellant mass36,239 kg (79,893 lb)
Maximum thrust1,304 kN (293,000 lbf)
Specific impulse293.5 s (2.878 km/s)
Burn time92.9 seconds
PropellantHTPB / AP / Al
Third stage – Zefiro 9
Height4.12 m (13.5 ft)
Diameter1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Gross mass12,000 kg (26,000 lb)
Propellant mass10,567 kg (23,296 lb)
Maximum thrust317 kN (71,000 lbf)
Specific impulse295.9 s (2.902 km/s)
Burn time119.6 seconds
PropellantHTPB / AP / Al
Fourth stage – AVUM+
Height2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
Diameter2.18 m (7 ft 2 in)
Empty mass698 kg (1,539 lb)
Propellant mass492 kg (1,085 lb) of N2O4, 248 kg (547 lb) of UDMH
Powered by1 × MEA
Maximum thrust2.42 kN (540 lbf)
Specific impulse315.8 s (3.097 km/s)
Burn timeUp to 924.8 seconds (up to five burns)[b]
PropellantUDMH / N2O4
[edit on Wikidata]

Vega C, or Vega Consolidation, is a European expendable, small-lift launch vehicle developed and produced by Avio. It is an evolution of the original Vega launcher, designed to offer greater launch performance and flexibility.

Approved for development by the European Space Agency (ESA) in December 2014, Vega C was designed to accommodate larger institutional payloads and compete effectively in the commercial launch market.[1] Initially marketed and operated by Arianespace, the ESA decided in August 2024 to empower Avio to directly commercialize Vega C and seek non-governmental customers. This transition is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2025.[2][3]

Vega C, like its predecessor, is designed to launch small satellites for scientific and Earth observation missions to polar and sun-synchronous low Earth orbits.[4] The reference Vega C mission places a 2,300-kilogram (5,100 lb) spacecraft into a 700-kilometre (430 mi) polar orbit, representing an 800-kilogram (1,800 lb) or 60% increase over the original Vega.  

Named after Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra,[5] the rocket is a single-body launcher (no strap-on boosters) with three solid and one liquid stage. While Avio of Italy leads the Vega program, contributions come from companies in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Vega C features several key advancements over the original Vega. The first stage is replaced by the more powerful P120C, which is also used as a booster on the Ariane 6 launcher, allowing development costs to be shared. The second stage is the upgraded Zefiro 40. While the AVUM+ upper stage remains largely unchanged, it carries a larger propellant load. The third stage, Zefiro 9, remains the same.[6]

Vega rockets are launched from the ELV launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre. The Vega C's maiden flight on 13 July 2022 successfully delivered LARES 2 and six other satellites to orbit.[7] 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.[8] Consequently, the next launch was delayed until late 2024 to allow for the rocket motor nozzle to be redesigned.[9]

Specifications

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Stages

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Stages[10] 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

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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.[10]

Payload capacity

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Arianespace had indicated that the Vega C launcher is able to carry 2,300 kg (5,100 lb) to a circular polar orbit at an altitude of 700 km (430 mi).[11]

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.[12]

Ascent timeline

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

Event[10] 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

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Building on Vega C, the Vega E (or Vega Evolution) is a further development of the Vega family with the Zefiro 9 and AVUM+ third and fourth stage replaced with a single upper stage powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane. This design would enable multiple satellites to be launched into different orbits on a single launch. The engine for this new upper stage, the M10, was the result of a collaboration between Avio and Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (KBKhA).[13][6] Successful testing of the engine was conducted in 2022,[14] and the maiden flight of Vega E is anticipated in 2027.[15]

Avio also plans to develop a new methane-fueled first-stage engine with plans to introduce a partially reusable rocket to eventually replace the Vega.[16]

List of launches

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See also: List of Vega launches

Launch history

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Flight Date / time (UTC) Rocket Launch site Payload Payload mass Orbit Customers Launch
outcome
VV21 13 July 2022
13:13:17[17] 		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[18] 		Vega C ELV Pléiades Neo 5 & 6 1,977 kg (4,359 lb) SSO Airbus Defence and Space Failure
Earth observation satellites.[19] Failure due to loss of pressure of the Zefiro 40 second stage.[20]

Future launches

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This section is transcluded from List of Vega launches. (edit | history)
Date / time (UTC) [21] Rocket Launch site Payload Orbit
3 December 2024
21:20[22] 		Vega C
VV25 		ELV Sentinel-1C SSO
Third Sentinel-1 satellite. Return to flight for Vega C following the VV22 launch failure.[23]
Q1 2025[24] Vega C
VV26 		ELV BIOMASS SSO
Earth observation satellite. Part of the Living Planet Programme.
Q2 2025[25] Vega C
VV27 		ELV CO3D × 4 SSO
Earth observation satellites
Q3 2025[26] Vega C
VV28 		ELV SMILE HEO
Joint Chinese-European Earth observation satellite.
October 2025[27] Vega C
VV29 		ELV Sentinel-1D SSO
Fourth Sentinel-1 satellite.
Q3 2025[28] Vega C ELV KOMPSAT-6 (Arirang-6) SSO
Earth observation satellite.
Q3 2025[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #9 LEO
SSMS #9 rideshare mission. Delayed due to the VV22 Vega-C launch failure.[23]
Q3 2025[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #7 SSO
SSMS #7 rideshare mission.
Q3 2025[30] Vega C[27] ELV Sentinel-3C SSO
Third Sentinel-3 Earth observation satellite.[31]
Q3 2025[32] Vega C ELV Space Rider LEO
Technology demonstration[33]
Q3 2025[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #13 SSO
SSMS #13 rideshare mission.
November 2025[34] Vega C ELV PLATiNO-2 / MAIA SSO
PLATiNO-2 will host the MAIA instrument payload.
Q4 2025[35] Vega C ELV IRIDE × ? LEO
First launch for the Italian IRIDE Earth observation satellite constellation.
Q4 2025[35] Vega C ELV IRIDE × ? LEO
Second launch for the Italian IRIDE Earth observation satellite constellation.
2025[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #8 SSO
SSMS #8 rideshare mission.
TBD[36] Vega C ELV PLATiNO-1 SSO
Earth observation satellite.
2025[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #6 SSO
SSMS #6 rideshare mission.
2025[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #10 SSO
SSMS #10 rideshare mission.
2025[37] Vega C ELV CSG-3 SSO
Third COSMO-SkyMed 2nd Generation satellite.
2025[38] Vega C ELV MicroCarb SSO
Earth observation satellite.
2025[39][40] Vega C[41] ELV SHALOM SSO
Joint Italian-Israeli hyperspectral imaging satellite.
January 2026[42] Vega C ELV KOMPSAT-7 (Arirang-7) SSO
Earth observation satellite[43][44]
Q2 2026[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #14 SSO
SSMS #14 rideshare mission.
Q3 2026[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #15 LEO
SSMS #15 rideshare mission to an equatorial orbit.
Q3 2026[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #16 LEO
SSMS #16 rideshare mission to an equatorial orbit.
Q4 2026[30] Vega C[27] ELV CO2M-A (Sentinel-7A) SSO
Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
2026[45] Vega C ELV ALTIUS, FLEX SSO
ALTIUS is an ozone observation satellite. FLEX is an Earth observation satellite of the Living Planet Programme.
2026[46] Vega C ELV ClearSpace-1 LEO
Space debris removal demo.
2026[47] Vega C ELV CSG-4 SSO
Fourth COSMO-SkyMed 2nd Generation satellite.
2026[48] Vega C ELV EAGLE-1 LEO
Demonstrator satellite for the first European sovereign space-based quantum key distribution system.[49]
Q1 2027[30] Vega C[27] ELV CO2M-B (Sentinel-7B) SSO
Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
Q2 2027[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #17 LEO
SSMS #17 rideshare mission.
2027[50][51] Vega C[52] ELV FORUM SSO
Earth observation satellite. Part of the Living Planet Programme.
Q2 2028[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #18 LEO
SSMS #18 rideshare mission.
Q4 2028[30] Vega C[53] ELV CRISTAL (Sentinel-9) Polar
Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
Q4 2028[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #19 LEO
SSMS #19 rideshare mission.
2028[30] Vega C[54] ELV Sentinel-3D SSO
Fourth Sentinel-3 Earth observation satellite.[31]
Q2 2029[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #20 LEO
SSMS #20 rideshare mission.
Q3 2029[30] Vega C[55] ELV CIMR-A (Sentinel-11A) SSO
Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
Q4 2029[29] Vega C ELV SSMS #21 LEO
SSMS #21 rideshare mission.
2029[55] Vega C ELV CHIME (Sentinel-10) SSO
Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
2029[55] Vega C ELV LSTM (Sentinel-8) SSO
Copernicus Land Surface Temperature Monitoring. Part of the Copernicus Programme.
2030[56] Vega C ELV TRUTHS LEO
Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio-Studies.

See also

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Notes

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  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

[edit]
  1. ^ "Media backgrounder for ESA Council at Ministerial Level". esa.int. ESA. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  2. ^ Robinson-Smith, Will (3 September 2024). "ESA targets Wednesday night for swan song launch of its Vega rocket". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  3. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (2024-07-08). "Could Avio's Finalized Split from Arianespace Offer an Opening for Competitors?". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  4. ^ Amos, Jonathan (13 February 2012). "Vega launcher makes first flight". BBC News. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b "VEGA-C". Avio. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  7. ^ European Space Agency, ed. (2022-07-13). "Vega-C successfully completes inaugural flight". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  8. ^ "Europe's Vega C rocket fails on 2nd-ever mission, 2 satellites lost". Space.com. 21 December 2022.
  9. ^ Foust, Jeff (October 2, 2023). "ESA delays Vega C return to flight to late 2024". Spacenews.
  10. ^ a b c "Vega C Users Manual" (PDF). Arianespace. May 2018. p. 1-6. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  11. ^ "Vega C Overview". Arianespace.
  12. ^ "Vega-C". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "First Half 2022 Financial Report". Avio (Press release). 9 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  15. ^ "First Half 2023 Financial Report" (PDF). Avio. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  16. ^ Clark, Stephen (2024-09-05). "The Vega rocket never found its commercial niche. After tonight, it's gone". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  17. ^ Atkinson, Ian (13 July 2022). "ESA launches upgraded Vega-C rocket on first mission". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Pléiades-Neo 1, 2, 3, 4 (VHR-2020 1, 2, 3, 4)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  20. ^ Foust, Jeff (2023-03-03). "Nozzle erosion blamed for Vega-C launch failure". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  21. ^ Pietrobon, Steven (10 October 2018). "Ariane Launch Manifest". Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  22. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (11 January 2024). "ESA Targets 15 November for Vega C Return to Flight Mission". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  23. ^ a b Foust, Jeff (3 March 2023). "Nozzle erosion blamed for Vega C launch failure". SpaceNews. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Bye-Bye Biomass: forest monitoring satellite departs for final testing before launch". Airbus. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  25. ^ "CO3D". CNES (in French). 16 October 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  26. ^ "Smiles all round: Vega-C to launch ESA solar wind mission". ESA. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ "Arianespace will launch Kompsat-6 with Vega C for Korea Aerospace Research Institute". Arianespace (Press release). 31 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "All flights opportunities". Arianespace. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  30. ^ a b c d e f "Planned launches". EUMETSAT. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  31. ^ a b Krebs, Gunter (7 July 2020). "Sentinel 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  32. ^ Richards, Bella (26 August 2023). "ESA's Space Rider likely to launch third quarter of 2025, program manager says". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  33. ^ Messier, Doug (12 April 2018). "Announcement of Opportunity to Fly Payloads on ESA's Space Rider". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  34. ^ "NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program" (PDF). NASA. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  35. ^ a b "Arianespace awarded new Vega C launches for the IRIDE programme". Arianespace (Press release). 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  36. ^ "Arianespace to launch PLATiNO 1 & 2 on Vega and Vega C". Arianespace (Press release). 6 January 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  37. ^ "Satellite: CSG-3". WMO. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  38. ^ "MicroCarb". CNES. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  39. ^ "Agenzia Spaziale Italiana Annual Report 2020" (PDF). ASI. 30 August 2021. p. 31. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  40. ^ "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.
  41. ^ "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.
  42. ^ "Vega-C - KOMPSAT-7". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  43. ^ "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.
  44. ^ "CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MISSION SUMMARY - KOMPSAT-7". The CEOS Database. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  45. ^ "ALTIUS - ESA's ozone mission". ESA. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  46. ^ Rainbow, Jason (19 January 2023). "ClearSpace raises $29 million ahead of first debris removal mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  47. ^ "Satellite: CSG-4". WMO. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  48. ^ "Launches | Upcoming launches". SES. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  49. ^ "SES Selects Arianespace to Launch EAGLE-1 Satellite for Europe's Quantum Cryptography". Arianespace (Press release). 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  50. ^ "Contract secures design for ESA's FORUM satellite". ESA. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  51. ^ 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.
  52. ^ "Earth Explorer 9 Candidate Mission FORUM – Report for Mission Selection" (PDF). ESA. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  53. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (23 September 2020). "Airbus signs $350 million contract to build CRISTAL ice-monitoring satellite for EU". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  54. ^ Henry, Caleb (10 February 2016). "ESA Awards Sentinel 3C and D Satellite Contracts to Thales Alenia Space". Via Satellite. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  55. ^ 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.
  56. ^ "TRUTHS". ESA. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
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