Vega C flight VV22 was the second launch of a
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 de ...
rocket and the 22nd launch overall of a
Vega
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 ...
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
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 approxim ...
.
Launch failure
The flight was planned to deploy the satellites into two very slightly different
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 ...
s 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 Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
.
The problem arose due to erosion of the throat insert procured at
KB Pivdenne
The ''Pivdenne'' Design Office (), located in Dnipro, Ukraine, is a designer of satellites and rockets, and formerly of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), established by Mikhail Yangel. During the Soviet era, the bureau's OKB de ...
in Ukraine.
See also
*
List of Vega launches
References
External links
Vega-C flight VV22at
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 vehicl ...
{{Arianespace launches
Vega (rocket)
2022 in French Guiana
Rocket launches in 2022
Satellite launch failures