List of Vega launches
| Company type | Launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Italian Space Agency (ASI), European Space Agency (ESA) |
| Headquarters | Kourou , French Guiana |
Area served | Global (satellite launch services) |
| Products | Launch vehicle for small satellites |
| Parent | Arianespace |
Vega is a single-use launch vehicle managed by Arianespace, developed collaboratively by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Its development began in 1998, culminating in its inaugural flight from the Guiana Space Centre on 13 February 2012.
Engineered primarily for deploying small satellites intended for scientific research and Earth observation tasks, Vega is optimized for insertion into polar and low Earth trajectories. The standard mission profile involves placing a spacecraft weighing approximately 1,500 kilograms into an altitude near 700 kilometers.
The rocket derives its name from the star Vega and features a streamlined, single-body configuration consisting of three solid-fueled stages: the P80 as the first stage, followed by the Zefiro 23 and Zefiro 9 as second and third stages respectively. Atop these stages is the AVUM upper module, which utilizes a liquid-propellant engine. The upgraded P80 model, known as the P120C, also functions as side boosters for the Ariane 6. Italy contributes a majority share of 65% to the program, with France providing 13%, while Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden participate as additional partners.
Past launches
All dates and times are given in UTC, with local time at the Guiana Space Centre being UTC−3.
2013–2019
| Flight | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VV01 | 13 February 2012 10:00:00 |
Vega | ELV | Low Earth Orbit | University of Bologna | Template:Success | ||
| VV02 | 7 May 2013 02:06:31 |
Vega | ELV | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit |
|
Template:Success | |
| VV03 | 30 April 2014 01:35:15 |
Vega | ELV | KazEOSat-2 | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | KGS | Template:Success |
| VV04 | 11 February 2015 13:40:00 |
Vega | ELV | Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle | [convert: invalid number] | Transatmospheric orbit | ESA | Template:Success |
| VV05 | 23 June 2015 01:51:58 |
Vega | ELV | Sentinel-2A | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | ESA | Template:Success |
| VV06 | 3 December 2015 04:04:00 |
Vega | ELV | LISA Pathfinder | [convert: invalid number] | Halo orbit Earth–Sun L1 | ESA / NASA | Template:Success |
| VV07 | 16 September 2016 01:43:35 |
Vega | ELV |
|
[convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | Peruvian Armed Forces / Terra Bella | Template:Success |
| VV08 | 5 December 2016 13:51:44 |
Vega | ELV | Göktürk-1A | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | Turkish Armed Forces | Template:Success |
| VV09 | 7 March 2017 01:49:24 |
Vega | ELV | Sentinel-2B | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | ESA | Template:Success |
| VV10 | 2 August 2017 01:58:33 |
Vega | ELV |
|
[convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | Italian Defense Ministry / Israel Space Agency / CNES | Template:Success |
| VV11 | 8 November 2017 01:42:31 |
Vega | ELV | Mohammed VI-A (MN35-13A) | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | Morocco | Template:Success |
| VV12 | 22 August 2018 21:20:09 |
Vega | ELV | ADM-Aeolus | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | ESA | Template:Success |
| VV13 | 21 November 2018 01:42:31 |
Vega | ELV | Mohammed VI-B (MN35-13B) | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | Morocco | Template:Success |
| VV14 | 22 March 2019 01:50:35 |
Vega | ELV | PRISMA (spacecraft) | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | Italian Space Agency | Template:Success |
| VV15 | 11 July 2019 01:53 |
Vega | ELV | Falcon Eye-1 | [convert: invalid number] | Sun-synchronous orbit | UAE Armed Forces | Template:Failure |
The failure of flight VV15 was traced to an inadequacy in thermal protection design on the forward dome section of the second stage. This flaw caused the loss of the Falcon Eye-1 reconnaissance satellite and necessitated transferring the Falcon Eye-2 launch to a Soyuz vehicle. The incident resulted in an unprecedented insurance payout amounting to US$411.21 million, setting a record for satellite launch failures.
2020–present
| Flight | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customers | Launch Outcome | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VV16 | 3 September 2020 01:51:10 |
Vega | ELV | SSMS PoC Flight (53 satellites) | SSO | Various | Success | ||||||||||
| Demonstration mission for the Small Satellites Mission Service Dispenser (SSMS) proof of concept, deploying 53 microsatellites and CubeSats. | |||||||||||||||||
| VV17 | 17 November 2020 01:52:20 |
Vega | ELV | SEOSat-Ingenio and TARANIS | 925 kg | SSO | CDTI and CNES | Failure | |||||||||
| Satellites for Earth observation and atmospheric research with an approximate value of US$400 million. The mission failed due to an upper stage trajectory deviation caused by an assembly mistake. | |||||||||||||||||
| VV18 | 29 April 2021 01:50 |
Vega | ELV | Pléiades Neo 3, NorSat-3, Bravo, ELO Alpha, Lemur-2 × 2 | 1278 kg | SSO | Airbus Defence and Space, NOSA, Aurora Insight, Eutelsat, Spire Global | Success | |||||||||
| Piggyback launch under the Small Satellites Mission Service (SSMS) program. | |||||||||||||||||
| VV19 | 17 August 2021 01:47 |
Vega | ELV | Pléiades Neo 4, BRO-4, LEDSAT, RADCUBE, SUNSTORM | 1029 kg | SSO | Airbus Defence and Space, UnseenLabs, Sapienza University of Rome, ESA, C3S Hungary, Reaktor Space Lab | Success | |||||||||
| Another SSMS piggyback deployment mission. | |||||||||||||||||
| VV20 | 16 November 2021 09:27:55 |
Vega | ELV | CERES 1/2/3 | 1548 kg | Semi-synchronous orbit | CNES/DGA | Success | |||||||||
| Signals intelligence (SIGINT) satellites mission. | |||||||||||||||||
| VV21 | 13 July 2022 13:13:17 |
Vega C | ELV | LARES 2, ALPHA, AstroBio CubeSat, CELESTA, GreenCube, MTCube-2, TRISAT-R | 350 kg | MEO | Italian Space Agency, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Montpellier, University of Maribor | Success | |||||||||
| Inaugural flight of the Vega C launcher. | |||||||||||||||||
| VV22 | 21 December 2022 01:47:31 |
Vega C | ELV | Pléiades Neo 5 & 6 | 1977 kg | SSO | Airbus Defence and Space | Failure | |||||||||
| Earth observation satellites lost due to pressure loss in the Zefiro 40 second stage. | VV23 | 9 October 2023 01:36 |
Vega | ELV | THEOS-2, TRITON, ANSER × 3, CSC × 2, ESTCube-2, MACSAT, N3SS, PRETTY, PROBA-V CC | SSO | GISTDA, TASA, INTA, ISISPACE, Tartu Observatory, OQ Technology, CNES, TU Graz, Aerospacelab | Success | |||||||||
| Deployment of Earth observation satellites along with SSMS #5 rideshare carrying ten cubesats. Two cubesats failed to separate and likely reentered the atmosphere destructively. | |||||||||||||||||
| VV24 | 5 September 2024 01:50 |
Vega | ELV | Sentinel-2C | 1143 kg | (SSO) | Airbus Defence and Space | Success | |||||||||
| Final mission using the base Vega configuration. Third Sentinel-2 Earth observation satellite launched. The AVUM upper stage utilized modified tanks from the larger AVUM+ after two original tanks were lost in a landfill incident in 2023. | |||||||||||||||||
| VV25 | 5 December 2024 21:20 |
Vega C | ELV | Sentinel-1C | 2300 kg | (SSO) | (ESA) | Success | |||||||||
| VV26 | 29 April 2025 09:15 |
Vega C | (ELV) | (BIOMASS) Earth observation satellite | (1131 kg) | (SSO) | (ESA) | (Success) | |||||||||
| VV27 | (26 July 2025) 02:03 |
(Vega C) | (ELV) | (CO3D ×4 + MicroCarb) | (1320 kg) | (SSO) | (CNES) | (Success) | |||||||||
Future launches
| Date / time (UTC) | Rocket | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | Vega C VV28 |
ELV | SMILE | HEO | |
| Collaborative Earth observation satellite by China and Europe. | |||||
| November 2025 | Vega C VV29 |
ELV | PLATiNO-2 / MAIA | SSO | |
| PLATiNO-2 carries the MAIA instrument payload. | |||||
| Q4 2025 | Vega C VV30 |
ELV | IRIDE × ? | LEO | |
| Initial deployment for Italy’s IRIDE Earth observation satellite network. | |||||
| Q3 2025 | Vega C | ELV | KOMPSAT-6 (Arirang-6) | SSO | |
| Earth observation satellite mission. | |||||
| Q3 2025 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #9 | LEO | |
| SSMS #9 rideshare launch, postponed following VV22 Vega-C failure. | |||||
| Q3 2025 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #7 | SSO | |
| SSMS #7 rideshare deployment. | |||||
| Q3 2025 | Vega C | ELV | Sentinel-3C | SSO | |
| Third satellite in the Sentinel-3 Earth observation series. | |||||
| Q3 2025 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #13 | SSO | |
| SSMS #13 rideshare mission. | |||||
| Q4 2025 | Vega C | ELV | IRIDE × ? | LEO | |
| Follow-up launch for the Italian IRIDE constellation. | |||||
| 2025 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #8 | SSO | |
| Rideshare flight SSMS #8. | |||||
| TBD | Vega C | ELV | PLATiNO-1 | SSO | |
| Earth observation satellite mission. | |||||
| 2025 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #6 | SSO | |
| SSMS #6 rideshare launch. | |||||
| 2025 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #10 | SSO | |
| Rideshare flight SSMS #10. | |||||
| 2025 | Vega C | ELV | COSMO-Skymed#CSG-3 (CSG-3) | SSO | |
| Third satellite of COSMO-SkyMed second generation series. | |||||
| 2025 | Vega C | ELV | SHALOM | SSO | |
| Joint hyperspectral imaging satellite by Italy and Israel. | |||||
| January 2026 | Vega C | ELV | KOMPSAT#KOMPSAT-7 (Arirang-7) | SSO | |
| Earth observation satellite deployment. | |||||
| Q2 2026 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #14 | SSO | |
| Rideshare mission SSMS #14. | |||||
| Q3 2026 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #15 | LEO | |
| SSMS #15 rideshare to equatorial orbit. | |||||
| Q3 2026 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #16 | LEO | |
| Rideshare flight SSMS #16 targeting equatorial orbit. | |||||
| Q4 2026 | Vega C | ELV | CO2M-A (Sentinel-7A) | SSO | |
| Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring satellite, part of Copernicus Programme. | |||||
| 2026 | Vega C | ELV | ALTIUS / FLEX | SSO | |
| ALTIUS is dedicated to ozone monitoring, FLEX is an Earth observation platform under the Living Planet Programme. | |||||
| 2026 | Vega C | ELV | ClearSpace-1 | LEO | |
| Demonstration mission for space debris removal. | |||||
| 2026 | Vega C | ELV | COSMO-Skymed (CSG-4) | SSO | |
| Fourth satellite in the COSMO-SkyMed second generation constellation. | |||||
| 2026 | Vega C | ELV | EAGLE-1 | LEO | |
| Demonstrator for Europe’s sovereign quantum key distribution system via space. | |||||
| Q1 2027 | Vega C | ELV | CO2M-B (Sentinel-7B) | SSO | |
| Continuation of Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring under Copernicus Programme. | |||||
| Q2 2027 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #17 | LEO | |
| Rideshare mission SSMS #17. | |||||
| 2027 | Vega C+ | ELV | Space Rider | LEO | |
| Technology demonstration flight. | |||||
| 2027 | Vega C | ELV | FORUM | SSO | |
| Earth observation satellite within the Living Planet Programme framework. | |||||
| Q2 2028 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #18 | LEO | |
| Rideshare launch designated as SSMS #18. | |||||
| Q4 2028 | Vega C | ELV | CRISTAL (Sentinel-9) | Polar | |
| Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter, part of Copernicus Programme. | |||||
| Q4 2028 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #19 | LEO | |
| Rideshare mission identified as SSMS #19. | |||||
| 2028 | Vega C | ELV | Sentinel-3D | SSO | |
| Fourth installment of the Sentinel-3 Earth observation satellites. | |||||
| Q2 2029 | Vega C | ELV | SSMS #20 | LEO | |
| Rideshare flight designated as SSMS #20. | |||||
| Q3 2029 | !Vega C | !ELV | !CIMR-A (Sentinel-11A) | !SSO | |
| Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer, part of Copernicus Programme. | |||||
| Q4 2029 | !Vega C | !ELV | !SSMS #21 | !LEO | |
| Rideshare mission SSMS #21. | |||||
| 2029 | !Vega C | !ELV | !CHIME (Sentinel-10) | !SSO | |
| Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission under Copernicus Programme. | |||||
| 2029 | !Vega C | !ELV | !LSTM (Sentinel-8) | !SSO | |
| Copernicus Land Surface Temperature Monitoring satellite within Copernicus Programme. | |||||
| 2030 | !Vega C | !ELV | !TRUTHS | !LEO | |
| Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio-Studies mission. | |||||