|
Vega-C Flight VV22
Vega C flight VV22 was the second launch of a Vega C rocket and the 22nd launch overall of a Vega family rocket. The rocket failed after launch, and the mission was lost. Payload The payload was the Pléiades Neo 5 & 6 satellites, which would have been the final satellites of France's Pléiades Neo constellation. The total payload mass was approximately with their adapters and dispensers. They were Airbus' 138th and 139th satellites launched by Arianespace respectively. Flight The flight was launched from the ELV launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre. Launch failure The flight was planned to deploy the satellites into two very slightly different sun-synchronous orbits at roughly . However, the rocket failed after launch, and the mission was lost; it was caused by the deviation of the Zefiro 40 second stage from its intended trajectory following a loss of chamber pressure, resulting in reentry about north of the launch site over the Atlantic. The problem arose due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arianespace
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It operates two launch vehicles: Vega C, a Small-lift launch vehicle, small-lift rocket, and Ariane 6, a Medium-lift launch vehicle, medium-to-Heavy-lift launch vehicle, heavy-lift rocket. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran. European space launches are carried out as a collaborative effort between private companies and government agencies. The role of Arianespace is to market Ariane 6 launch services, prepare missions, and manage customer relations. At the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana, the company oversees the team responsible for integrating and preparing launch vehicles. The rockets themselves are designed and manufactured by other companies: ArianeGroup for the Ariane 6 and Avio for the Vega. The launch infrastructure at the CSG is owned by the European Space Agency, while the land itself belongs to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guiana Space Centre
The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately north of the equator at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its near equatorial location and open sea to the east and north. At CSG, space launches are conducted by several European private companies and government agencies working together. The CSG land itself is managed by CNES, the French national space agency. The launch infrastructure built on the CSG land is owned by the European Space Agency. The private company Arianespace operates the launches including planning missions, handling customer relationships and overseeing the team at CSG that integrates and prepares vehicles for launch. The rockets themselves are designed and produced by other companies, ArianeGroup f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ensemble De Lancement Vega
ELV () is a launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana supporting launches of the Vega and Vega C rockets. It was first built in November 1971 and was previously used to support launches of the Europa, Ariane 1 and Ariane 3 rockets. History Europa (BEC) ELA-1, at the time designated BEC () was constructed as an equatorial launch site for the Europa-II rocket which was being built as part of the ELDO programme. The first launch occurred on 5 November 1971. This was the only flight of the Europa-II, which ended in failure due to a guidance problem. The launch site was mothballed, and later demolished. Ariane (ELA) When the Ariane 1 programme was started, to replace the failed ELDO programme, a new launch site was built on the site of the former BEC, re-designated as ELA (). The first Ariane 1 launch occurred on 24 December 1979. ELA was also used by Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 rockets, which first flew on 31 May 1986 and 4 August 1984 respectively. ELA was redesi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pléiades (satellite)
The Pléiades constellation is composed of two very-high-resolution optical Earth-imaging satellites. Pléiades-1A and Pléiades-1B provide the coverage of Earth's surface with a repeat cycle of 26 days. Designed as a dual civil/military system, Pléiades will meet the space imagery requirements of European defence as well as civil and commercial needs. History The Pléiades system was designed under the French-Italian ORFEO Programme (Optical and Radar Federated Earth Observation) between 2001 and 2003. The Pléiades programme was launched in October 2003 with CNES (the French space agency) as the overall system prime contractor and EADS Astrium as the prime contractor for the space segment. Spot Image is the official and exclusive worldwide distributor of Pléiades products and services under a delegated public service agreement. Launches * Pléiades-1A was launched via a Russian Soyuz ST-A launch vehicle of the Centre Spatial Guyanais, Kourou, French Guiana, on 17 D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vega (rocket)
Vega (, , ) was a European expendable small-lift launch vehicle developed by Avio and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Designed to carry payloads between into low Earth and polar orbits, Vega served primarily scientific and Earth observation missions. Development of Vega began in 1998, with its maiden flight launched from the Guiana Space Centre on 13February 2012. Over the next decade, it became the eighth most launched small-lift launch vehicle history, though it struggled to compete in the commercial launch market. After initial success, two in-flight failures and rising competition from SpaceX's rideshare programs, which offered lower prices, relegated Vega to primarily serving European government agencies willing to pay more to support independent space access. The rocket took its name from Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. It featured a single-body design without strap-on boosters, con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LARES 2
LARES (Laser Relativity Satellite) is a passive satellite system of the Italian Space Agency. Mission LARES 1 LARES 1 was launched into orbit on 13 February 2012 at 10:00:00 UTC. It was launched on the first Vega rocket from the ESA Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, French Guiana. Composition The satellite is made of THA-18N, a tungsten alloy, and houses 92 cube-corner retroreflectors, which are used to track the satellite via laser from stations on Earth. LARES's body has a diameter of about and a mass of about . LARES was inserted in a nearly circular orbit near and an inclination of 69.49 degrees. The satellite is tracked by the International Laser Ranging Service stations. The LARES satellite is the densest object known orbiting the Earth. The high density helps reduce disturbances from environmental factors such as solar radiation pressure. Scientific goals The main scientific target of the LARES mission is the measurement of the Lense–Thirring effect with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vega Flight VV23
Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, and one of the most luminous stars in the Sun's neighborhood. It is the fifth-brightest star in the night sky, and the second-brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus. Vega has been extensively studied by astronomers, leading it to be termed "arguably the next most important star in the sky after the Sun". Vega was the northern pole star around 12,000 BCE and will be so again around the year 13,727, when its declination will be . Vega was the first star other than the Sun to have its image and spectrum photographed. It was one of the first stars whose distance was estimated through parallax measurements. Vega has functioned as the baseline for calibrating the photometric brightness scale and was one of the stars u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vega C
VegaC, or Vega Consolidation, is a European expendable, small-lift launch vehicle developed and produced by Avio. It is an evolution of the original Vega launcher, designed to offer greater launch performance and flexibility. Approved for development by the European Space Agency (ESA) in December 2014, VegaC was designed to accommodate larger institutional payloads and compete effectively in the commercial launch market. Initially marketed and operated by Arianespace, the ESA decided in August 2024 to empower Avio to directly commercialize VegaC and seek non-governmental customers. This transition is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2025. VegaC, like its predecessor, is designed to launch small satellites for scientific and Earth observation missions to polar and sun-synchronous low Earth orbits. The reference VegaC mission places a spacecraft into a polar orbit, representing an or 60% increase over the original Vega. Named after Vega, the brightest star in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airbus Defence And Space
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus revenues in 2016, it is the second largest space company in the world. History Formation of EADS and expansion (1997–2008) As early as 1995, the German aerospace and defence company DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA) and its British counterpart British Aerospace were said to be eager to create a transnational aerospace and defence company. The two companies envisaged including the French corporation Aérospatiale — another major European aerospace company — in the project, but only after its privatization, as it was owned by the French state. However, the merger faltered, and British Aerospace abandoned the DASA merger in favour of purchasing its domestic rival, Marconi Electronic Systems, which was the electronics division of General Elec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sun-synchronous Orbit
A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is an orbit arranged so that it Precession, precesses through one complete revolution each year, so it always maintains the same relationship with the Sun. Applications A Sun-synchronous orbit is useful for imaging satellite, imaging, reconnaissance satellite, reconnaissance, and weather satellites, because every time that the satellite is overhead, the surface illumination angle on the planet underneath it is nearly the same. This consistent lighting is a useful characteristic for satellites that image the Earth's surface in visible or infrared wavelengths, such as weather and spy satellites, and for other remote-sensing satellites, such as those carrying ocean and atmospheric remote-sensing instruments that require sunlight. For example, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zefiro (rocket Stage)
Zefiro is a family of solid-fuel rocket motors developed by Avio and used on the European Space Agency Vega rocket. The name Zefiro derives from the acronym ZEro FIrst stage ROcket, conceived when this motor was intended to be used as first and second stages of San Marco program of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The name also references the Greek god of the west wind, Zephyrus. , two models Zefiro 40 and Zefiro 9 are in use on the Vega C rocket. The Zefiro 23, which powered the original Vega is no longer in production. History The first engine completed was Zefiro 9, the third stage engine. The first test firing was carried out on 20 December 2005, at the Salto di Quirra Inter-force Test Range, on the Mediterranean coast in southeast Sardinia. The test was a complete success. After a critical design review based on the completed first test firings, the second test-firing of the ''Zefiro 9'' took place at Salto di Quirra on 28 March 2007. After 35 seconds, there was a sudd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for separating the New World of the Americas (North America and South America) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Asia, and Europe). Through its separation of Afro-Eurasia from the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean has played a central role in the development of human society, globalization, and the histories of many nations. While the Norse colonization of North America, Norse were the first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved to be the most consequential. Columbus's expedition ushered in an Age of Discovery, age of exploration and colonization of the Americas by European powers, most notably Portuguese Empire, Portugal, Spanish Empire, Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
