Vega-C
ActiveAvio S.p.A (Avio)
July 13, 2022
Description
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.
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
Commercial
CEO: Giulio Ranzo
Avio 1908Avio 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.
Upcoming Spaceflights
Vega-C | KOMPSAT-7
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD November, 2025
Vega-C | Korean Multi-purpose Satellite 6 (KOMPSAT-6)
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD March, 2026
Vega-C | Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD April, 2026
Vega-C | Sentinel-3C
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD June, 2026
Vega-C | CO3D & MicroCarb
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
July 26, 2025, 2:03 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
CO3D is a CNES-Airbus Defence & Space constellation of four small satellites designed to map the globe in 3D from low Earth to serve public and private sector needs. Microcarb is a small satellite designed to map sources and sinks of carbon dioxide (CO2)—the most important greenhouse gas — on a global scale.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitVega-C | Biomass
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
April 29, 2025, 9:15 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
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.
Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Vega-C | Sentinel-1C
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Dec. 5, 2024, 9:20 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
Sentinel-1C carries an advanced radar technology to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth’s surface. It is a replacement satellite to complete the Sentinel-1 duo after Sentinel-1B suffered a technical anomaly.
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