The Vega Rocket Has Launched a New Satellite into Orbit

The Vega launch vehicle from the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Pléiades Neo 4 remote sensing satellite into orbit on the night of August 16-17.

The launch vehicle was launched from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana. Vega has also launched four ultra-small craft into orbit.

The new satellite will allow tracking objects in high resolution of 30 cm. It will also provide greater accuracy in the geolocalization of objects, over which it will carry out two flights per day.

An Arianespace Vega rocket lifts off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, on Aug. 16, 2021. (Image credit: Arianespace)

Satellite devices can receive data within 30-40 minutes after sending them a request. This is five times faster than previous constellations of satellites, and it will allow you to respond to the most critical situations in almost real-time, which is very important in natural disasters.

This is the second of four satellites that, once the constellation is fully deployed (Pléiades Neo 3, 4, 5, 6), will be able to visit anywhere in the world at least twice a day and will provide commercial and institutional consumers with high-resolution images.

Also, four auxiliary loads of several items were launched into orbit as well. These include CubeSats (small satellites for space research weighing up to 1.33 kg. - Ed.) RADCUBE, SUNSTORM, LEDSAT commissioned by the European Space Agency, and BRO-4 CubeSat commissioned by Unseenlabs.

The main engine block (BMD) RD-843, which is used as part of the liquid propulsion unit of the 4th stage of the Vega LV, was developed by Yuzhnoye Design Bureau and is serially produced by Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant. These engines allow multiple launches during flight (up to 5 starts), which ensures the placement of satellites in different orbits.

Vega Project

Vega is a light launch vehicle that had been jointly developing since 1998 by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The rocket is named after the second brightest star in the northern hemisphere.

Recently, there has been a need to launch satellites weighing from 300 to 2000 kg into polar circular low orbits. As a rule, these are low-budget projects of research organizations and universities on Earth observation in scientific missions, as well as reconnaissance, scientific and amateur satellites. The launch vehicles of this class are present in the line of space carriers of different countries, for example, the Indian PSLV, the Ukrainian Dnepr and the Russian Rokot, the American Taurus and Falcon, and the Chinese Great March 2C.

The planned payload of the Vega LV will be 1500 kg into a polar orbit with an altitude of ~ 700 km. The LV is designed to launch the payload into a low reference orbit and a sun-synchronous orbit. In the first flight of the light class launch vehicle, it should launch the main payload - the LARES satellite weighing 400 kg, to an altitude of 1450 km with an orbital inclination of 71.5o. Unlike most single-class launch vehicles, Vega is capable of launching several spacecraft at once. The main types of devices that are potential loading:

● Microsatellites - up to 300 kg;

● Minisatellites - from 300 to 1,000 kg;

● Small satellites - from 1,000 to 2,000 kg.

It is reported that the unit cost of removing each kilogram will be lower than competing carriers since Vega uses inexpensive technologies, in particular, polymer materials for the casing of the stages, which reduce their cost and weight, and solid fuel for the first three stages, which reduces the cost of fuel storage, refueling, and a stage motor. The project cost was € 450 million.

The First Launch of the VEGA Launch Vehicle

February 13, 2012, could be historic for the European Space Agency. In French Guiana, final checks are underway ahead of the launch of Europe's first lightweight VEGA launch vehicle .

The culmination in the Kourou would be from 11 to 13 hours Paris time (10-12 GMT). As part of this launch window, the first European light launch vehicle would launch 9 satellites into orbit.

The launch of VEGA is the result of nine years of efforts by the European Space Agency. Italy played the role of the lead developer here. Another 6 ESA member countries participated in the project: France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden.

With the introduction of VEGA, Arianespace, responsible for the commercialization of ESA launches, will offer customers a full range of rockets. Thus, the lightweight VEGA launch vehicle, with a payload of up to one and a half tons, will expand the range of possible combinations for launching satellites and reduce the waiting time for customers before launching satellites. orbit.

The light VEGA will launch on a difficult schedule, along with the Arian 5 heavy-class carrier (up to 11 tons), which is historical for Kuru, and the Russian Soyuz, which has been registered there since October 2011, capable of launching up to 3 tons of payload into Earth's orbit.