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
34.8 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
2230.0 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 | Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
April 9, 2026, 6:29 a.m.
Vega-C | Sentinel-3C & FLEX
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD September, 2026
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in the Sentinel-3 constellation, which provides high-accuracy optical, radar and altimetry data for marine and land services. The Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) satellite is a part of ESA's Earth Explorer program. The satellite will map vegetation fluorescence to quantify photosynthetic activity.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitVega-C | KOMPSAT-6 & PLATiNO 1
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD November, 2026
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
Korean Multi-purpose Satellite 6 (KOMPSAT-6) is the sixth South Korean Earth observation satellite of the KOMPSAT series. It is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar with a ground resolution between 0.5 and 20 meters. PLATiNO 1 is an experimental X-band SAR earth observation satellite project by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), with a radar payload from Thales Alenia Space Italia. The X-band SAR will first operate in passive mode at 619 km altitude, then in active mode after the satellites moves lower to a 410 km orbit.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitVega-C | IRIDE 1
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD December, 2026
Vega-C | IRIDE 2
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD December, 2026
Vega-C | KOMPSAT-7
Avio S.p.A | ItalyGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Dec. 1, 2025, 5:21 p.m.
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 OrbitFalcon 9
Starlink Group 17-35
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 10-58
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Soyuz-5
Demo Flight
45/1 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of KazakhstanDemonstration Flight for Russia's new Soyuz-5 launch vehicle, with a mass simulator on board. Details TBD.
Space Launch System (SLS)
Artemis II
Launch Complex 39B - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USAArtemis II is the first crewed mission as part of the Artemis program. Artemis II will send a crew of 4 - 3 Americans and 1 Canadian around the moon …
Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M
Meridian-M No.21L
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian FederationNote: Payload identity uncertain. Meridian is a series of communications satellite for military and civilian use.
