The second mission of Europe’s new Vega C rocket did not go as planned.
Medium-lift Vega C lifted off the ground Europe’s Spaceport Airbus is carrying two satellites for the Pleiades Neo Earth imaging constellation on Tuesday, December 20 at 20:47 EST (22:47 local time; 21 December 0147 GMT) in Kourou, French Guiana.
The rocket’s first stage, known as the P120C, did its job. But the second phase, called Zefiro 40, did not happen.
Representatives of Arianespace, the French company that operates the Vega C, said in an emailed statement Tuesday night, “About 2 minutes and 27 seconds after takeoff, an anomaly occurred on the Zefiro 40, thus ending the Vega C mission.” “Data analyzes are ongoing to determine the reasons for this failure.”
Related: history of rockets
Developed by Vega C. European Space Agency (ESA) and operated by Arianespace.
115 feet high (35 meters), four-stage rocket It is a more powerful version of Vega that first flew in 2012. The Vega C can carry about 5,070 pounds (2,300 kilograms) of payload, compared to 3,300 pounds (3,300 pounds), into sun-synchronous orbit to an altitude of 700 kilometers (435 miles). 1,500 kg) for the old rocket, According to Arianespace (opens in new tab).
The two spacecraft, Pleiades Neo 5 and Pleiades Neo 6, lost due to Tuesday’s failure, together weighed 4,359 pounds (1,977 kg). The duo headed into sun-synchronous orbit where they would complete Airbus’s Pleiades Neo-Earth-imaging constellation.
“The constellation consists of four identical satellites built using the latest Airbus innovations and technological advances, allowing to view any point on Earth at 30 centimeters several times a day. [12 inches] resolution,” wrote Arianespace Vega C’s mission statement (opens in new tab).
“Extremely agile and responsive, they can be deployed up to 15 minutes before acquisition and send the images back to Earth within the next hour,” Arianespace said. “Smaller, lighter, more agile, accurate and reactive than the competition, they are the first in their class to be fully commercially available.”
Vega C had a flight before Tuesday. rocket in July 2022 successfully upgraded LARES-2, a 650-pound (295-kg) satellite developed by the Italian Space Agency, and six interoperable cube satellites.
Tuesday’s mission was originally supposed to start on November 1. 24. However, Arianespace delayed replacing the defective equipment on the rocket for about a month. Unlocking the Vega C’s cargo cover (opens in new tab) At a processing plant in Kourou.
Further analysis will likely try to determine if the faulty equipment has anything to do with the launch failure. We should learn more on Wednesday, December 21; Arianespace plans to hold a media teleconference at 10:00 am EST (1500 GMT).
Mike Wall”Outside (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or he Facebook (opens in new tab).
