It is the third to last launch, before “passing the baton” to his successor. The Vega rocket, of Italian construction and belonging to ESA (European Space Agency) was launched for flight number 18, after the failure of the previous one. From 2022 the “basic” Vega will be replaced with the improved and enhanced version of the “Vega C”, and in the meantime two or perhaps three more launches of the current version are planned.
Tonight, at 22:50 local time (2.50 Italian time), the rocket’s first mission of 2021, almost entirely built by Avio in Colleferro (Rome), left from the European spaceport of French Guiana, having as a payload main is the optical observation satellite Pleiades Neo 3. It is the first of four satellites of an orbital Earth observation constellation.
In addition, Vega will also launch an observation micro-satellite for the Norwegian space agency, called Norsat-3, plus four cubic mini-satellites for the operators of Eutelsat, NanoAvionics / Aurora Insight and Spire.
These small satellites will be transported as additional payloads on the innovative Small Spacecraft Mission Service (Ssms) system, built by Avio and placed in the ogive, the upper part of the launcher. Funded by ESA, Arianespace’s SMS platform will soon be joined by the Multiple Launch Service (Mls), a similar but larger platform, as it will be installed on the new and powerful Ariane 6 rocket. And with these two technological tools, Arianespace intends to offer a wide range of launch opportunities at low prices, for small satellites and satellite constellations.
After launching from the Kourou ramp, the Vega launcher sped up to space for just over six minutes. The third stage broke away after separation from the composite section, which includes the Avum upper stage and the Pleiades Neo 3 satellite, the SMS and its five mini-satellites. The fourth stage Avum, fired its liquid fuel engine for the first time for a duration of approximately eight minutes, followed by a ballistic phase lasting 37 minutes, and then restarted its engine for a second flight phase before to release the Pleiades Neo 3 satellite.
Two more Avum power-up phases will last approximately 37 minutes in total, followed by the release of the five mini-satellites. All this will last an hour and 42 minutes from the departure from Guyana.
The production of the Vega launcher and the preparations for the VV18 mission were supervised by Avio, under the direction of Arianespace and ESA, and followed all the recommendations made by the independent commission of inquiry established after the failure of the previous mission.