14 DAY TRIAL // Following the successful completion of Vega's maiden flight, the path is now clear towards launching two spacecraft belonging to the Sentinel Earth-observing constellation aboard the small rocket. A successful launch was all that stood in the way of validating a contract signed in December, 2011.
At that time, representatives from French aeronautics giant Arianespace and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed an agreement to launch the Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-3B satellites aboard Vega light-lift delivery systems, if the new rocket proved that it could fly.
Yesterday, February 13, the first Vega booster, called VV01, lifted off successfully from the Kourou Spaceport, in French Guiana, South America, carrying nine small satellites to Earth's orbit. The flight demonstrated that the vehicle is indeed ready to fly.
According to the terms of the contract, the two Sentinel spacecraft will launch to space aboard Vega rockets sometime in 2014 or 2015. An exact launch date has not yet been established, and a clear decision on this issue is at least several months away.
Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-3B are part of Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program, which was developed by ESA and the European Commission. The goal of this endeavor is to attain a series of independent assets capable of monitoring the planet.
Vega is capable of carrying satellites weighing between 300 and 2,500 kilograms (660 to 5,512 pounds). The cargo can be deployed in numerous types of orbits, ranging from Sun-synchronous to equatorial and geostationary.
Primarily, the delivery system was developed around the need to put 1,5-tons (3,300-pound) spacecraft into a circular, Sun-synchronous orbit, at an altitude of about 700 kilometers (435 miles).
Small satellites will from now on be launched aboard Vega rockets, medium-class payloads from Russian-built Soyuz capsules and rockets (which can also take off from their dedicated pad at Kourou), while larger satellites will be delivered via the Ariane 5 delivery system.
Yesterday's flight also marked the first time eastern European countries – Romania, Poland and Hungary – constructed CubeSats, and became involved in an ESA mission. Three of the nine satellites aboard Vega were built by these countries, whose efforts were funded by the ESA educational program.