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Launch services

Vega technical data

Typical length: 29.9 m.
Typical diameter: 3.025 m.
Typical liftoff mass: 137 tons
Payload capacity: 1,500 kg. into a 700-km. circular polar orbit
Industrial prime contractor: ELV S.p.A.

Vega > Industrial team

Arianespace benefits from a simplified procurement organization for its family of Vega, Soyuz and Ariane 5 launchers, and relies on a prime contractor for each vehicle.

For Vega, the industrial prime contractor is ELV S.p.A. – a Colleferro, Italy-based company created in December 2000 to manage the launch vehicle’s development and production. ELV S.p.A. is jointly owned by Avio and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), with 70 and 30 percent shareholdings, respectively. The shareholders’ extensive experience in the field of solid propulsion includes the supply of boosters for Ariane-3, Ariane-4 and Ariane-5 launchers.

As the Vega’s industrial prime contractor, ELV is in charge of acceptance of the launcher's components and their integration in French Guiana. As the launcher design authority, the company also participates in final preparations and launch operations, alongside the Arianespace mission teams.