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A European Vega rocket loaded with two satellites veered off course shortly after lift-off, and the mission was classified as a failure by the European company Arianespace. “Eight minutes after the start of the mission, immediately after the fourth stage engine was turned on for the first time, a deterioration in the trajectory was observed,” said a statement. “This led to the loss of the mission.”
The cargo transporter was lifted from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana early Tuesday morning German time, as seen on the live broadcast of the operator Arianespace. It is unclear why the mission failed and what exactly happened, the search for the cause continues. According to initial reports, the so-called AVUM rocket stage was said to have not been fast enough to orbit and burned up along with satellites in Earth’s atmosphere over Canada or the Arctic.
Last year, a “Vega” file was split in two at release.
With a height of 30 meters, the »Vega« is the smallest European space rocket in the arsenal of the European company. Last year there was the first false start of a »Vega« rocket. The probable reason was a defect in the second stage rocket motor. The missile broke into two large pieces.
The current mission was the second launch of a »Vega« rocket this year. The previous start in September was originally planned for spring but was delayed time and time again due to bad weather conditions and the corona crisis.
“We deeply apologize to our customers.”
The “Vega” rocket from the current mission was supposed to take the first Spanish earth observation satellite “Seosat” into space for the European Space Agency (ESA) and Spain. The satellite should provide high resolution images of the Earth. Also on board the rocket was the “Taranis” satellite, which was supposed to be used to observe electromagnetic radiation and light phenomena. Arianespace did not initially disclose how high the financial damage is.
“We deeply apologize to our customers,” Arianespace boss Stéphane Israël wrote on Twitter. Now he is discussing with the Italian rocket manufacturer Avio what happened. Arianespace is part of the ArianeGroup, which is itself a joint venture between the European aviation group Airbus and the French engine manufacturer Safran.
