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Vega was an expendable launch system in use by Arianespace which was jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Development began in 1998 and the first launch took place from the Guiana Space Centre on 13 February 2012.

It is designed to launch small payloads — 300 to 2,500 kilograms (660 to 5,510 lb) 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 (3,300 lb) to an altitude of 700 kilometres (430 mi).

The rocket, named after the star Vega, is a single-body launcher (no strap-on boosters) with three solid rocket stages: the P80 first stage, the Zefiro 23 second stage, and the Zefiro 9 third stage. The upper module is a liquid rocket called AVUM. The improved version of the P80 stage, the P120C, is also used as the side boosters of the Ariane 6. Italy is the leading contributor to the Vega program (65%), followed by France (13%). Other participants include Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden.

Launch statistics

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Rocket configurations

•   Vega
•   Vega C
•   Vega C (scheduled)

Launch outcomes

•   Failure
•   Success
•   Scheduled

Orbits

•   LEO
•   SSO
•   TAO
•   Halo orbit Earth sun L1
•   HEO

Past launches

Note: Date and time of start (as count-down zero, ignition or lift-off?) is listed in UTC. (Although local time at Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana, South America is UTC−3.)

2013–2019

2020–present

Future launches

See also

• List of Falcon 1 launches
• List of Electron launches
• Falcon 1
• PSLV

Notes

References

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9. VERTA is an acronym for Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment and designates Vega's missions aiming "to demonstrate the flexibility of the Vega launch system" VERTA framework includes four ESA missions (PROBA-V, ADM-Aeolus, LISA Pathfinder and IXV), but also some missions of National Agencies (like ASI). Source: ESA (20 November 2013) VERTA Programme ASI (2015) PRISMA Precursore IperSpettrale (Hyperspectral Precursor) of the application mission
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69. "Flight VV23: success to the benefit of Thaland, Taiwan and cubesats". Arianespace (Press release). 9 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
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v t e Arianespace launches
Ariane 5 (list)	V88 (Cluster) VA241 (SES-14) VA245 (BepiColombo) VA256 (James Webb Space Telescope)
Ariane 6 (list)	VA262 (maiden flight)
Soyuz	VS09 (Galileo) VS22 (O3b)
Vega (list)	VV01 (LARES) VV15 (FalconEye1) VV16 (SSMS) VV22 (Pléiades Neo 5&6)
Between parentheses is the main payload only Italics indicate future launches Symbol indicates failure or partial failure

• Lists of rocket launches
• Vega (rocket)