Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Vega-C launch (operational audio only)

The inaugural flight of ESA’s new Vega-C rocket is set for 13 July at 13:13 CEST. The principal payload of flight VV21 is LARES-2, a scientific mission of th...

LARES-2 (Maiden flight)

Overview

Destination: Medium Earth Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Medium Earth Orbit Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Maiden flight of the Vega-C launch vehicle, carrying the LARES-2 passive satellite. It is a 40 cm diameter sphere with laser mirrors to study the Earth gravitational field and relativistic effects. Also onboard are six European research cubesats.

Updates

spacevogel • July 13, 2022, 3:30 p.m.

Launch announced a success on the webcast


spacevogel • July 13, 2022, 1:13 p.m.

Liftoff


spacevogel • July 13, 2022, 12:58 p.m.

New T-0


Vega-C

Family:
Configuration:

See Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    1
  • Max Stage
    4
  • Length
    30.1 m
  • Diameter
    3.0 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    136 T
  • Thrust
    2974 kN
Family
  • Name
    Vega-C
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Vega-C
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $48000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    1500 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Avio S.p.A

Avio S.p.A

(Avio)

CEO: Giulio Ranzo Founded: 1908 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

Avio S.p.A. is an Italian company operating in the aerospace sector with its head office in Colleferro near Rome, Italy. Founded in 1908, it is present in Italy and abroad with different commercial offices and 10 production sites.

INFO WIKI

Related News

Spaceflight Now

Europe’s Vega-C launcher successful on inaugural flight

The excitement of Europe’s inaugural launch of its Vega-C rocket Wednesday was palpable at the launch site in French Guiana Wednesday, following two technical holds that preceded the successful delivery of seven small satellites into orbit.

NASA Spaceflight

ESA launches upgraded Vega-C rocket on first mission

Vega-C, the newest iteration of the European Vega rocket, has launched on its debut flight, VV21. Vega-C boasts a higher payload capacity and lower cost per kilogram of payload than the original Vega rocket.

SpaceNews

Vega C lifts off on maiden flight

Europe’s new Vega C medium-lift rocket lifted off on its maiden flight July 13, carrying an Italian physics satellite and six cubesats.

SpaceNews

ESA studies options for Vega C upper stage engine ahead of first launch

The European Space Agency is continuing to study options to ensure a continued supply of upper stage engines for the Vega C rocket as that vehicle gears up for its inaugural launch.

SpaceNews

Arianespace narrows Vega C and Ariane 6 maiden flight windows

Arianespace plans to conduct the maiden flight of Vega C and Ariane 6 rockets in “the first week of July” and “towards the end of the year,” respectively, a senior executive said June 1.

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)


Falcon 9
In Flight
1 hour, 40 minutes ago
Starlink Group 10-9
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 4B
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Gaofen-11-05
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Gaofen is a series of civilian Earth observation satellites developed and launched for the China High-definition Earth Observation System (CHEOS), a …


Falcon 9
Failure
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 9-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Hyperbola-1
Failure
2 weeks, 2 days ago
Yunyao-1 15-17
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 weather satellites performing atmospheric measurements using GNSS Radio Occultation for a Tianjin based company. Constellation is planned to have a…


Ariane 62
Success
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Maiden Flight
Ariane Launch Area 4 - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Maiden Flight of the Ariane 62 launch vehicle, carrying ten cubesats, two deployers, five experiments, and two reentry capsules.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 4 days ago
Türksat 6A
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Türksat 6A is Turkey's first domestically manufactured geostationary communications satellite. It is to reside in 42° East orbital slot, providing se…


Long March 6A
Success
3 weeks, 1 day ago
Tianhui 5 Group 02
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

A pair of satellites officially described as for cartographic surveying purposes, details TBD.


Firefly Alpha
Success
3 weeks, 2 days ago
FLTA005 (Noise of Summer)
Space Launch Complex 2W - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Fifth flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying eight cubesats for NASA's ELaNa 43 (Educational Launch of a Nanosatellite) mission.


Falcon 9
Success
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 8-9
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


H3-22
Success
3 weeks, 5 days ago
Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 (ALOS-4)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

The Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 (ALOS-4) is a Japanese satellite designed to observe the Earth's surface using a phased array type L-band syn…