Vega (rocket)

Vega

Vega's VV05 before liftoff with Sentinel-2A
Function	Small-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Avio
Country of origin	European multi-national[a]
Cost per launch	US$37 million
Size
Height	30 m (98 ft)
Diameter	3 m (9.8 ft)
Mass	137,000 kg (302,000 lb)
Stages	4
Capacity
Payload to polar orbit
Altitude	700 km (430 mi)
Orbital inclination	90°
Mass	1,430 kg (3,150 lb)
Payload to elliptic orbit
Altitude	1,500 km × 200 km (930 mi × 120 mi)
Orbital inclination	5.4°
Mass	1,963 kg (4,328 lb)
Payload to SSO
Altitude	400 km (250 mi)
Mass	1,450 kg (3,200 lb)
Associated rockets
Derivative work	Vega C
Comparable	Delta II Electron Epsilon Minotaur PSLV Rokot Shavit 2 Soyuz-2.1v
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Guiana Space Centre, ELV
Total launches	22
Success(es)	20
Failure(s)	2
First flight	13 February 2012 (multiple payloads)[1]
Last flight	5 September 2024 (Sentinel-2C)
First stage – P80[2][3][4]
Height	11.7 m (38 ft)
Diameter	3 m (9.8 ft)
Empty mass	7,330 kg (16,160 lb)
Gross mass	95,695 kg (210,971 lb)
Maximum thrust	2,261 kN (508,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	280 s (2.7 km/s)
Burn time	107 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / AP
Second stage – Zefiro 23
Height	8.39 m (27.5 ft)
Diameter	1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Empty mass	2,850 kg (6,280 lb)
Gross mass	28,850 kg (63,600 lb)
Maximum thrust	871 kN (196,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	287.5 s (2.819 km/s)
Burn time	71.6 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / AP[5]
Third stage – Zefiro 9
Height	4.12 m (13.5 ft)
Diameter	1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Empty mass	1,315 kg (2,899 lb)
Gross mass	11,815 kg (26,048 lb)
Maximum thrust	260 kN (58,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	296 s (2.90 km/s)
Burn time	117 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / AP[6]
Fourth stage – AVUM
Height	1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Diameter	1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Empty mass	147 kg (324 lb)
Gross mass	697 kg (1,537 lb)
Powered by	1 × RD-843[7] (RD-868P)[8]
Maximum thrust	2.42 kN (540 lbf)
Specific impulse	315.5 s (3.094 km/s)
Burn time	317 seconds
Propellant	UDMH / N2O4
[edit on Wikidata]

Vega (Italian: Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata, French: Vecteur européen de génération avancée, lit. 'Vector European Generation Advanced')^[9] was an expendable small-lift launch vehicle operated by Arianespace, produced by Avio, and jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Development began in 1998 and the first launch took place from the Guiana Space Centre on 13 February 2012.^[4] It was the 8th most launched small lift launch vehicle in history. The final flight of the rocket took place on 5 September 2024, after being replaced by the improved Vega C, already in use since 2022.

It was designed to launch small payloads, 300 to 2,500 kilograms (660 to 5,510 lb) satellites for scientific and Earth observation missions to polar and low Earth orbits.^[10] The reference Vega mission was a polar orbit bringing a spacecraft of 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) to an altitude of 700 kilometres (430 mi).

The rocket, named after Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra,^[11] was a single-body launcher (no strap-on boosters) with three solid rocket stages: the P80 first stage, the Zefiro 23 second stage, and the Zefiro 9 third stage. The upper module was a liquid rocket called AVUM. The improved version of the P80 stage, the P120C, will also be used as the side boosters of the Ariane 6. Italy was the leading contributor to the Vega program (65%), followed by France (13%).^[12] Other participants include Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden.^[13]

Vega struggled to compete in the commercial launch market in its decade of service. After initial success, two in-flight failures and rising competition 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.^[14]

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