Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Vol VV26 | Biomass | Vega C | Arianespace

Le mardi 29 avril 2025 à 06h15 heure locale (09h15 UTC, 11h15 CET), Arianespace a lancé avec succès le satellite Biomass du programme Earth Explorer de l’Agence spatiale européenne (ESA) à bord d’une ...

Volo VV26 | Biomass | Vega C I Arianespace

Martedì 29 aprile 2025, alle 6:15 ora locale (09:15 UTC, 11:15 CEST), Arianespace lancerà il satellite di esplorazione della Terra Biomass dell'Agenzia Spaziale Europea (ESA) dallo spazioporto europeo...

Vega C Flight VV26

Allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Without these cookies, we will not be able to gather accurate data in order to …

Biomass

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Biomass is an European Space Agency mission designed to measure the density of carbon stored in the world's forests. The spacecraft, built by Airbus Defence and Space, features the first civilian P-band synthetic aperture radar as well as a 12m-diameter deployable reflector from L3Harris made of over 900 km of gold-coated molybdenum 25µm wire. With a minimum operational lifetime of 5 years in its 666km 6am/6pm sun-synchronous orbit, the global coverage achieved every 9 months allows to precisely monitor the evolution of forests over time.

Updates

hitura-nobad • April 29, 2025, 10:25 a.m.

Biomass deployed.


Cosmic_Penguin • April 29, 2025, 10:45 a.m.

Spacecraft confirmed operational.




LL2 • April 29, 2025, 8:53 a.m.

Official Webcast by arianespace has started


Vega-C

Family:
Configuration:

Vega-C is a single-body rocket nearly 35 m high with that weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad. As with Vega, its main elements are three solid-propellant stages, an upper stage powered by a reignitable liquid-propellant engine and a payload fairing. Vega-C's P120C first stage replaces Vega’s smaller P80 to provide a significant increase in thrust at liftoff. It is also used as boosters (2 or 4) for the Ariane 6 rocket.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    4
  • Length
    35.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.0 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    3.3 m
  • Launch Mass
    210.0 T
  • Thrust
    2974.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Vega-C
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Vega-C
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $48000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    3300.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    2300.0 kg

Avio S.p.A

Avio S.p.A

(Avio)

CEO: Giulio Ranzo Founded: 1908 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 7

Agency Type:

Avio S.p.A. is an Italian company operating in the aerospace sector with its head office in Colleferro near Rome, Italy. Founded in 1908, it is present in Italy and abroad with different commercial offices and 10 production sites.

INFO WIKI

Related News

European Spaceflight

The Case of the Missing Vega AVUM Propellant Tanks

Two of the four tanks necessary to power the fourth stage of the final Vega flight disappeared several months ago, leaving Avio scrambling to find an alternate solution. The Vega AVUM fourth stage stands at 1.74 meters tall with a diameter…

Arstechnica

What happens in Vega didn’t stay in Vega, as key rocket parts went missing

There's a valuable payload riding on the final Vega rocket launch.

ESA

ESA’s pioneering Biomass satellite arrives at launch site

Marking another step towards new insights into Earth’s forests and their role in the carbon cycle, ESA’s groundbreaking Biomass satellite has arrived at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, to be prepared for liftoff on a Vega-C rocket at …

ESA

Biomass cleared for fuelling

From the ESA Blogs.

ESA

Biomass fully loaded

Marking a major milestone in the preparation of ESA’s Biomass satellite for its scheduled 29 April liftoff, experts have completed the critical and hazardous process of fuelling the satellite.

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)


Falcon 9
Go
20 hours, 55 minutes ago
O3b mPower 9-10
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

2 high-throughput communications satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) built by Boeing and operated by SES.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 14 hours ago
Starlink Group 17-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 11 hours ago
Project Kuiper (KF-01)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

First of a three launches contract for Amazon's Kuiper low Earth orbit satellite internet constellation, with 24 satellites on board.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 16 hours ago
Starlink Group 15-2
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 26 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 7
Success
1 week ago
Tianzhou-9
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Eighth cargo delivery mission to the Chinese space station.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Dror-1
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Note: SpaceX identifies the mission as "Commercial GTO 1". Dror-1 is a geostationary communication satellite built and developed by Israel Aerospa…


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks ago
Starlink Group 10-28
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
2 weeks, 4 days ago
Progress MS-31 (92P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Long March 4C
Success
2 weeks, 5 days ago
Shiyan 28 B-01
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Satellite officially named for "space environment detection" purposes, exact details unknown.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 6 days ago
Starlink Group 10-25
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.