European Vega-C rocket launched into space

The rocket lifted off from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at around 10:20 PM CET. Technology from Austria is also on board. Both the satellite’s thermal insulation and navigation receiver come from domestic space company Beyond Gravity.

The shell is a multi-layer thermal insulation made of several layers of ultra-thin special films made of polyimide, which keep the satellite’s instruments at the required operating temperature despite the extremely harsh space environment, a press release said. The navigation receiver makes it possible to determine the position of the satellite at an altitude of about 700 kilometers in space.

Very important for ESA
The launch is of great importance for the European Space Agency (ESA) to independently launch smaller satellites into space and thus strengthen Europe’s access to space. The Vega C is a further development of the Vega rocket, which launched light satellites into space from 2012 until this fall. According to ESA, the new rocket can carry around 800 kilograms more payload, bringing a total of more than two tons of payload into space. It is also cheaper and can put satellites into orbit at different altitudes.

Here you can watch the rocket launch:

European space travel is intended to make it more competitive. According to ESA boss Josef Aschbacher, the Vega C covers exactly the area that ESA needs for many missions. “This is really a need that we have not been able to meet until now.”

Starts as early as 2022
The Vega C was actually launched over two years ago. But after a successful maiden flight in July 2022, the first commercial launch failed in December of the same year. The rocket deviated from its course a few minutes after launch due to a technical problem with the Zefiro-40 engine. The flying object was then destroyed and fell into the sea. All other planned launches so far have been canceled.

According to the investigation committee, there was unexpected erosion on the lining of the exhaust nozzle throat in the engine. The reason for this is probably that the material used was not homogeneous enough.

Nearly two years of work on missile return
While the rocket was originally scheduled to take off again in 2023, ESA and its partners, especially Italian prime contractor Avio, analyzed and tested for almost two years until the model finally returned to the launch pad. Avio admitted that the Ukrainian-made nozzle had not been tested much before the false start. The new mouthpiece comes from France.

The approximately two-year failure of the Vega C was particularly unfortunate for ESA. Due to delays, Ariane 6, which will launch larger satellites into space, was only available for the first time in July. The European launch vehicle sector was therefore in crisis. In some cases, Esa switched to Falcon 9 rockets from Elon Musk’s American company SpaceX for satellite launches.

Confidence is high
The rocket carries the Sentinel-1C satellite of the European Earth observation program Copernicus. Aschbacher said: “We are really confident that everything will go well today.”

The departure was actually scheduled for late Wednesday evening, German time. It was then postponed at short notice because the movable gantry around the rocket could not be removed for launch due to a technical problem, according to rocket operator Arianespace.