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The European light launcher Vega-C, which was to make its first commercial flight, was lost shortly after takeoff from Kourou on Tuesday December 20, with two Airbus satellites on board.
« The mission is lost said Arianespace President Stéphane Israel from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana. Ten minutes after takeoff, at 10:47 p.m. local time (2:47 a.m. Paris time), the trajectory of the launcher deviated from that programmed, then the telemetry stopped arriving at the control room of the Guiana space center.
« Approximately 2 minutes and 27 seconds after takeoff, an anomaly occurred on the Zefiro 40 », the second stage of the launcher, « thus ending the Vega-C mission “Said Arianespace in a brief press release. ” Data analyzes are underway to determine the reasons for this failure. added Arianespace. Arianespace found that there was no debris fallout after takeoff.
Vega-C, presented as the little sister of the future Ariane 6, was to place two Earth observation satellites built by Airbus, Pléiades Neo 5 and 6, into orbit, the last two of the Pléiades Neo constellation to allow to image any point on the globe several times a day with a resolution of 30 centimeters.
The last launch of the year for Europe’s spaceport
This was the rocket’s first commercial flight after its inaugural launch July 13 successful. Initially scheduled for November 24, this flight had been postponed for a month due to a defective launcher element. “ We had to change equipment related to the headdress “Stephane Israel told AFP.
This launch is the fifth and last of the year 2022 for Europe’s spaceport in Kourou. Vega-C – C for “consolidation” according to its industrial prime contractor, the Italian Avio – is an improved version of the light launcher Vega, fired twenty times – with two failures – since 2012.
Vega-C, a high manufacturing cost for a growing global market
Made in Italy, Vega-C has been fitted with a special thruster. This new solid rocket motor alone cost 720 million euros. The European Agency has added 215 million euros for the modernization of Vega. A high cost, but supposed to allow Europe to be more competitive in a rapidly expanding global satellite market. But for the past two years, the problems have been piling up. First, the maiden flight of Ariane 6. Postponed to the end of 2023. Then, the war in Ukraine which put an end to cooperation with Russia in terms of firing Soyuz rockets from the Guiana space center.
Serious setbacks that will push the Agency even more to turn to its big competitor, the American SpaceX. Two European probes should soon be launched by the Falcon 9 rocket, designed by Elon Musk’s company. Bills are in danger of skyrocketing.
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(With AFP)