Space travel Successful launch of the European Vega C rocket
Almost two years after a failed launch, a Vega C launcher lifted off from the European spaceport last night without a hitch. The head of the European Space Agency Esa, Josef Aschbacher, spoke of a "triumphant return to former performance".
05.12.2024, 23:12
06.12.2024, 02:23
SDA
The rocket took off from the European spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana at around 10.20 p.m. Central European Time on Thursday. After around one hour and 50 minutes, the final step of the launch was completed. Rocket operator Arianespace praised a "perfectly executed European mission" on X. Giulio Ranzo, head of the prime contractor Avio, said: "Tonight we have restored the performance of Vega C."
The Vega C is an evolution of the Vega rocket, which launched lightweight satellites into space from 2012 until this fall. According to Esa, the new rocket can transport around 800 kilograms more load, i.e. a total of more than two tons of payload into space. It is also cheaper and can place satellites in orbits at different altitudes.
Independent space travel
The aim is to make Europe's space travel more competitive. According to Esa CEO Josef Aschbacher, the Vega C covers exactly the area that Esa needs for a large number of missions. "This is really a need that we have not been able to meet in this way before." After the launch, it will be important to ramp up capacity and be able to carry out four to six flights per year.
The Vega C was actually launched more than two years ago. However, after a successful maiden flight in July 2022, the first commercial launch failed in December of the same year. A few minutes after its launch, the rocket veered off course due to a technical problem with the Zefiro-40 engine. As a result, the flying object was destroyed and fell into the sea. All further planned launches to date have been canceled.
According to the investigation commission, there had been unexpected erosion on the lining of the thrust nozzle throat in the engine. The reason for this was probably that the material used was not homogeneous enough.
Almost two years of work for rocket return
While the rocket was originally scheduled to take off again in 2023, Esa and its partners, above all the Italian prime contractor Avio, ultimately spent almost two years analyzing and testing before the model finally returned to the launch pad. Avio admitted that the Ukrainian-made nozzle had not been tested often before the launch failure. The new nozzle comes from France.
The failure of the Vega C for around two years was particularly unfortunate for Esa. This is because the Ariane 6, which is intended to launch larger satellites into space, was not available for the first time until this July due to delays. The European launcher sector was therefore in crisis. In some cases, Esa switched to Falcon 9 rockets from Elon Musk's US company SpaceX for satellite launches.
On board the rocket is the Sentinel-1C satellite of the European Copernicus earth observation program. The launch was originally scheduled for late Wednesday evening Central European Time. It was then postponed at short notice because the movable portal around the rocket could not be removed for the launch due to a technical problem, according to rocket operator Arianespace. For Aschbacher, this crisis has now been "absolutely overcome".
