Europe’s Vega rocket is back in action.
The four-stage booster, powered by the French company ArianeSpace, took off tonight (Sept. 2) at 9:51 pm from the Guyana Space Center in South America with EDT (0151 GMT), orbiting 53 satellites. 21 different customers from 13 countries.
Today’s mission since July 10 last year was the first for a 98-foot-tall (30-meter) Vega, while a rocket Suffered great inconsistencies During the launch of the Falcon 1 Earth-observation satellite of the United Arab Emirates. Rocket and Falcon 1 were both lost.
Related: Vega rocket from Europe in the photo
By September 2019, investigators had identified a possible cause of the inconsistency Thermo-structural failure in part of the Z23 motorIs, which powers the second phase of Vega.
Returning to tonight’s flight indicates that the problem has been fixed. And the launch was a landmark in another way: it would mark the entry of Europe’s new Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) satellite dispenser.
Officials at the European Space Agency (ESA) say the SMS dispenser is designed to help make the European rocket a more attractive option, with customers looking to launch smaller satellites on Ridershare missions.
The competition for the growing rideshare market is already fierce. For example, the launch industry heavyweight SpaceX offers piggyback rides aboard its Falcon 9 rocket. little for less than 1 million.
“This flight marks the beginning of a new era in rideshare opportunities for small satellites and demonstrates our commitment to Europe’s space capability to serve European institutions, strengthen the space industry and grow our economy,” said Renato Lafranco, ESA’s Vega Exploitation Program Manager. Said in a prelaunch statement.
SMS consists of upper part and lower part. On today’s mission, which Arianespace calls VV16, 33 kg in the upper part. And 330 lbs. (15 to 150 kg). In the lower part lie 46 small Cubes, Which is in the size of 0.25U to 6U, aerospace representatives Wrote a mission description. (A cubeset is a “U,” or unit, a solid 4 inches, or 10 centimeters, on the side.)
All 53 satellites will be deployed about an hour and 42 minutes after the lift off, Arenespace representatives said.
The 53 satellites flying on VV16 will orbit various functions ranging from earth observation to telecommunications technology demonstrations, Arian Space representatives said.
The Vega rocket is designed to lift relatively small payloads or, like today’s flight, many smaller satellites. Booster debuted in February 2012 and last year the Falcons had 14 consecutive successful missions before 1 failure.
Today’s launch was originally scheduled to take place in June, but was repeatedly pushed back by bad weather and schedule issues.
The story was updated on September 3 at 1:55 p.m. With the news of successful satellite deployment.
Mike W. Wall is the author of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Carl Tate), a book about the quest for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @Mamildld. Follow us on Twitter @speed.com or Facebook.
