Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 2 2009

Vega (Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata, European Advanced Generation Carrier [Rocket]) is an expendable launch system being developed for Arianespace jointly by the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Development began in 1998 and the first launch, which will take place from the Guiana Space Centre, is planned for 2009. It is named after the star Vega.

It is designed to launch small payloads: 300 to 2,000 kg satellites for scientific and Earth observation missions to polar and low earth orbits. The reference Vega mission is a polar orbit bringing a spacecraft of 1,500 kilograms to an altitude of 700 kilometers.

Vega is a single-body launcher (no strap-on boosters) with three solid rocket stages, the P80 first stage, the Zefiro 23 second stage, the Zefiro 9 third stage, and a liquid rocket upper module called AVUM. The technology developed for the P80 program will also be used for future Ariane developments. Italy is the leading contributor to the Vega program with 65%; other participants include France (12.43%), Belgium (5.63%), Spain (5%), The Netherlands (3.5%), Switzerland (1.34%) and Sweden (0.8%). (more...)