Vega
Avio seeking to compress Vega launch delays
Italian rocket builder Avio will keep a team of launch personnel in French Guiana from May through August in the hopes of completing three Vega launches this year, notwithstanding coronavirus-related slowdowns.
Guiana Space Center launches to resume in June
Europe’s South American spaceport will resume launch preparations in late May under new protective measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Synspective shifts launch of first satellite to Rocket Lab
Japanese synthetic aperture radar (SAR) company Synspective announced April 14 it will launch its first satellite with Rocket Lab after initially selecting Arianespace for that mission.
Avio, exempt from Italy’s coronavirus lockdown, seeks reopening of French Guiana spaceport
Since 60% of Avio’s revenue comes from manufacturing, the French government’s March 16 decision to suspend launches from the Guiana Space Center shouldn’t impact revenues as long as Europe’s South American spaceport reopens within two to three months, Ranzo said.
UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 satellite switched from Vega to Soyuz
Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, said Airbus, the satellite’s manufacturer, asked to switch from Vega to Soyuz to avoid further delays getting Falcon Eye 2 into orbit.
Arianespace could launch record 22 missions in 2020
Arianespace is poised to launch up to 22 missions this year, a number that would nearly double the company’s record.
Swiss startup ClearSpace wins ESA contract to deorbit Vega rocket debris
The mission, dubbed ClearSpace-1, is slated to launch in 2025 to capture and deorbit a 100-kilogram Vespa payload adapter an Arianespace Vega left in orbit after deploying ESA’s Proba-V remote-sensing satellite.
ESA setting aside funds for Vega launcher return to flight
The European Space Agency is preparing to allocate a few million euros to ensure Vega doesn’t have any repeats of its July launch failure, an agency official said Nov. 20.
Avio anticipates Vega C upgrade funding at ESA ministerial, Vega return to flight in March
Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said during a Nov. 7 earnings call, said Vega is on track for a return to flight by March, though what payload will launch on the mission is still to be determined.
SpaceX says rideshare missions will launch on time, even if partly empty
SpaceX plans to launch regular Falcon 9 rideshare missions starting in March and won’t delay launches for tardy customers, a company executive said Oct. 8.
Arianespace reveals manifest, notes launch market variety
Orders for geostationary satellites are beginning to rebound in a market is far more varied than in the past.
Second stage blamed as Vega targets early 2020 return to flight
Investigators think Vega’s failure originated in the forward dome area of the Zefiro-23, the second of three solid-fueled stages the rocket expends to deliver satellites to orbit.
Space insurer Swiss Re leaves market
Jan Schmidt, the head of Swiss Re’s space underwriting division, said in an email obtained by SpaceNews that the decision to “cease Space underwriting with immediate effect” was driven by “bad results of recent years and unsustainable premium rates.”
Italy to increase space projects with “mirror programs” of European agencies
The Italian Space Agency has launched a new initiative to strengthen Italy’s space expertise by leveraging domestic companies to build spacecraft that complement pan-European programs.
Arianespace Vega launch fails, Emirati satellite lost
The fifteenth launch of a European Vega rocket ended in failure July 10, resulting in the loss of an imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates.
Avio gets ESA assurance for transition missions from Vega to Vega C
Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, the Colleferro, Italy, company that builds the Vega and future Vega C rocket, said the ESA council session included missions for both Avio-built rockets during the transition years to Vega C.
