Today at 00:20 Moscow time, the light European Vega C rocket launched from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. The launch was initially scheduled for December 3, then postponed to the 4th for additional tests, and finally to the 5th due to problems discovered during preparation on one of the launch farms. The launch took place as usual and without deviations, which became a real holiday for Europe.
Image source: ESA
«An important day for Italy and Europe. Vega-C is back,” Reuters quoted Teodoro Valente, head of the Italian space agency ASI, as saying. ASI is a major participant in the Vega program.
This was the third and second successful launch for the Vega C launch vehicle. The first flight of the new lightweight European rocket took place in the summer of 2022. However, the next launch in December 2022 ended in an accident and the loss of two satellites. The investigation showed that the cause of the accident was a burnt-out second-stage engine nozzle. The component supplier was replaced, but the problem recurred. Only by the fall of 2024 was it possible to ensure reliable operation of this engine element.
Today, the rocket launched the Sentinel-1C satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 km for radar sensing of the Earth. It will be paired with the Sentinel-1A satellite. Both devices are part of the European Copernicus network designed to monitor the Earth. With the lightweight Vega C rocket and the heavy Ariane 6 launching this summer, the EU could forego SpaceX and other suppliers to launch payloads into space.