Vega C is ready on the launch pad of the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana for its maiden flight. And it is the first take-off of the new rocket of the European Space Agency (ESA), born in Italy in the Avio plants, which marks a step forward in terms of performance and flexibility to bring loads into orbit. And, ultimately, new opportunities for access to space for Europe and Italy.
On board, in the ogive that houses the cargo at the head of Vega C, is the scientific satellite of the European Space Agency (ASI) Lares 2, a reflective sphere, little more than a basketball. Once in orbit it will be the “target” of laser pulses to test with great precision two phenomena described by Einstein’s general relativity (the dragging effect, frame dragging, of a rotating body that “drags” spacetime around itself, and the Earth’s gravitometric field).
Vega C’s task will be to take it very far, almost 6,000 kilometers high. In addition to Lares 2, the ogive hosts six cubesats selected by the European Space Agency and built by European universities and research centers, including the Italians Astrobio (built by Inaf and the School of Aerospace Engineering) and GreenCube (built by “Sapienza” University of Rome), also promoted and guided in development by ASI. At ESA they try to repeat history: ten years ago, on February 13, 2012, in the cargo of the maiden flight of the predecessor, Vega, there was the Lares experiment, the first model of the satellite that will fly today.
The case
Space, the new European rockets are coming
by Emilio Cozzi
The launch, in two hours up to 6,000 km
It will all last about two hours and 15 minutes. The first stage (the new P120c engine) will detach after 2 minutes and 26 seconds at 77 kilometers and the second stage, the Zefiro 40 engine, will “burn” for just over two minutes to separate at 176 kilometers. The third stage (Zefiro 9) will push up to 309 kilometers, meanwhile the fairing that protects the load from friction and turbulence in the atmosphere will have opened. 18 minutes after launch, it will be the turn of the last stage: the Avum + engine will start up twice, reaching an altitude of 5,893 kilometers an hour and 24 minutes after the liftoff. At this point the release of the Lares 2 satellite will take place. Avum + will still have a couple of tasks, with two further ignitions it will go down a bit to release the cubesats at 5,841 kilometers, finally, with a fifth and final push it will return to Earth not to stay in orbits like space debris that is now aimless.
Vega C, more powerful and versatile
Vega C is one of the new carriers (together with Ariane 6, whose maiden flight is scheduled for 2023) developed by ESA, to which Italy has contributed more by itself than all the other countries (which are 11) combined . The Italian investment is in fact 52% (out of a total of 300 million for the Vega C excluding the development of the P120c engine, which will also drive the Ariane 6), and the carrier took shape in Italy in the Avio plants in Colleferro, in the province of Rome.
The “C” stands for “Consolidation”, it is in fact the improvement of the performances and technologies already tested for the predecessor. Vega C can carry loads of up to 2,200 kilos into low Earth orbit, compared to Vega’s 1,450. The new Avum + engine can be re-ignited up to seven times and thus allows greater flexibility, being able to move to different orbits and therefore release satellites for loads and customers with different needs (from cubesats to large telecommunications satellites to military assets). The cost per kilo for companies and institutions that purchase the orbit access service, according to ESA engineers, will be reduced by 50%. The Vega C transport service is marketed by Arianespace, and there are already 14 Vega C flights “booked” by customers, especially institutional ones, even before the baptism of space.