File:Vega_and_Sentinel-2_ready_and_waiting_on_the_launch_pad.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Vega
Sign in to saveAlso known as Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata, Vega Space Transportation System
retired European expendable orbital launch vehicle
Key facts
- Function
- Small-lift launch vehicle
- Manufacturer
- Avio
- Country of origin
- European multi-national
- Cost per launch
- US$ 37 million
- Height
- 30 m (98 ft 5 in)
- Diameter
- 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
- Mass
- 137,000 kg (302,000 lb)
- Altitude
- 700 km (430 mi)
- Orbital inclination
- 90°
- Derivative work
- Vega C
- Comparable
- Delta II Electron Epsilon Minotaur PSLV Rokot Shavit 2 Soyuz-2.1v
- Status
- Retired
- Launch sites
- Guiana , ELV
- First flight
- 13 February 2012 (multiple payloads)
- Last flight
- 5 September 2024 ( Sentinel-2C )
- Empty mass
- 7,330 kg (16,160 lb)
- Gross mass
- 95,695 kg (210,971 lb)
- Maximum thrust
- 2,261 kN (508,000 lb f )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Diameter
- 3
- Mass
- 136700
- Image
- Vega and Sentinel-2 ready and waiting on the launch pad (cropped).jpg
- Height
- 30.1
Show 2 more facts
- service entry
- 2012-02-13
- Commons category
- Vega (rocket)
via Wikidata · CC0
~25 min read
Article
Vega (Italian: Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata, French: Vecteur européen de génération avancée, lit. 'Vector European Generation Advanced') was a European expendable small-lift launch vehicle developed by Avio and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Designed to carry payloads between 300 and 2,500 kilograms (660 and 5,510 lb) into low Earth and polar orbits, Vega served primarily scientific and Earth observation missions.
Development of Vega began in 1998, with its maiden flight launched from the Guiana Space Centre on 13 February 2012. Over the next decade, it became the eighth most launched small-lift launch vehicle history, though it struggled to compete in the commercial launch market. After initial success, two in-flight failures and rising competition from SpaceX's rideshare programs, which offered lower prices, relegated Vega to primarily serving European government agencies willing to pay more to support independent space access.