Vega rocket's last blast hurls Sentinel-2C satellite into orbit

ESA and Arianespace now twiddling thumbs until Vega-C returns to flight

The European Space Agency (ESA) has bid a fond farewell to the Vega rocket with the successful launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-2C spacecraft.

Introduced in 2012, the Vega can hardly be called a commercial success. The small-lift rocket managed 22 launches before its retirement, though it also experienced multiple failures during its operational lifetime.

The launch had been postponed due to what the vehicle's operator, Arianespace, called "electrical issues on the ground links."

The problem was solved, and at 0150 UTC on September 5, the Vega made its final flight and sent ESA's Copernicus Sentinel-2C to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 775 km. According to Arianespace, spacecraft separation took place 57 minutes and 27 seconds after lift-off.

While the Vega has had its troubles, with failures in 2019 and 2020, its successor, the Vega-C, managed just one launch in 2022 before a nozzle failure resulted in two of Airbus's Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging satellites being dumped into the ocean. Redesigns of the Zefiro 40 engine nozzle used in the second stage of the Vega-C failed testing in 2023, pushing the return to flight for the Vega's successor to the end of 2024.

The launch of the last Vega leaves ESA and Arianespace in somewhat of a bind until Vega-C returns to flight, a mission currently set for November that will carry the third Sentinel-1 satellite. The second Ariane 6 launch is also planned before the end of 2024, but the flexibility and reduced costs of the Vega-C are required if Arianespace is to compete effectively across the commercial launcher market.

As for Sentinel-2C, it will replace Sentinel-2A, which was also launched on a Vega. The Sentinel-2 mission comprises a pair of satellites equipped with a high-resolution optical imagery payload to monitor the Earth's land and coastal waters. The two satellites fly in the same orbit but 180 degrees apart and can achieve complete coverage every five days.

Sentinel-2B, another Vega launch, will be replaced by Sentinel-2D in 2025, which is set for launch on a Vega-C.

While the launch was the farewell flight for the Vega, the rocket's legacy will live on with Vega-C, with shared components such as the Zefiro 9 third stage. ®