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| Vega launch | |
|---|---|
| Launch | 11 July 2019 (2019-07-11), 01:53:03 UTC |
| Operator | Arianespace |
| Pad | Kourou ELV |
| Payload | FalconEye1 |
| Outcome | Failure |
| Vega launches | |
| ← VV14VV16 → | |
Vega flight VV15 was the 15th flight of the Vega launcher, and her first failure.
Payload
The flight, with a total payload mass of about 1,279 kilograms (2,820 lb), was a single-payload mission that should have deployed the FalconEye1 satellite into orbit.
FalconEye1
Main article: FalconEye1FalconEye1, a high resolution Earth observation built by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space, had a lift-off mass of approximately 1,197 kilograms (2,639 lb), and was the only satellite on board the flight.
Mission description
Launch date
The launch, initially foreseen on 5 June 2019, also at 01:53:03 UTC, was postponed several times due to unfavourable weather conditions. The 15th Vega flight finally lifted off from the ELV launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana on 11 July 2019 at 01:35:15 UTC (10 July 2019 at 10:53:03 local time).
Planned orbit
The mission was planned to last 57 minutes and 09 seconds from lift-off until separation, placing its payload into a quasi-circular sun-synchronous target orbit with a mean altitude of about 611 kilometres (380 mi).
Launch log
It was the 311th Arianespace mission (the 6th in 2019), and the 15th Vega launch (the 2nd in 2019).
FalconEye1 was Airbus Defence and Space's 131st and Thales Alenia Space 159th spacecraft to be launched by Arianespace.
Failure
Facts
Only 9 minutes after liftoff, a first statement was read by Luce Fabreguettes, Arianespace's executive vice-president for missions, operations and purchasing, indicating that " about 2 minutes after liftoff, around the Z23 ignition, a major anomaly occurred, resulting in the loss of the mission. From the first flight data analysis we will get in the coming hours more precise information, and we will communicate to everybody at the soonest. ".
Arianespace later repeated in a press release that "approximately two minutes after the Vega launcher’s liftoff, shortly after ignition of the second stage (Zefiro 23), a launcher anomaly occurred – leading to the premature end of the mission".
Avio also published the same press release and also a video by their CEO confirming the event: "Approximately two minutes after the Vega launcher’s liftoff, shortly after ignition of the second stage (Zefiro 23), a launcher anomaly occurred – leading to the premature end of the mission", and "At present, the cause of the anomaly is still unknown and is under investigation".
From the available launch videos, and contrarily to some scripted comments read out live by the flight director, it appears that the Zefiro 23 second stage did not ignite, for a reason to be determined.
Aftermath
An inquiry commission has been appointed to investigate the causes of the failure and to produce recommendations allowing the Vega launcher to resume safe operations. It will be co-chaired by ESA's inspector general, Toni Tolker-Nielsen, and Arianespace's chief technical officer, Roland Lagier. The commission will also include representatives from CNES and Avio.
References
- "Vega Flight VV15 - Arianespace". arianespace.com. Arianespace. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Vega Flight VV15 failure: Arianespace and ESA appoint an independent inquiry commission". Arianespace. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "Vol VV15 : Arianespace au service d'un programme d'observation de la Terre au profit des Émirats Arabes Unis" [Flight VV15: Arianespace at the service of an Earth observation programme for the profit of the UAE] (PDF) (Launch kit) (in French). Arianespace. June 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "Flight VV15: Arianespace at the service of an Earth observation programme for the profit of the UAE" (PDF) (Launch kit). Arianespace. June 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "🔴 LIVE LAUNCH of Arianespace Vega Flight VV15 – FalconEye1 + FAILURE". Youtube. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "Vega VV15". Avio.com. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ Ranzo, Giulio (11 July 2019). "Vega Flight VV15: Giulio Ranzo CEO of Avio". Avio.com.
- "Vega Flight VV15 failure: Arianespace and ESA appoint an independent inquiry commission". European Space Agency. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
External links
- Vega Flight VV15 at Arianespace (Archived 29 June 2019)
| Arianespace launches | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ariane 5 (list) |  | |
| Ariane 6 (list) |
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| Soyuz | ||
| Vega (list) | ||
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