The Arianespace commercial launcher family will grow with the addition of Vega, a new vehicle scheduled to enter operation in 2009 for flights with small- to medium-sized satellite payloads.

This European four-stage launcher is tailored to carry the growing number of small scientific spacecraft and other lighter-weight payloads under development or planned worldwide.

Vega's target payload lift capability is 1,500 kg. on missions to a 700-km. circular orbit.

Vega, with a hight of 30 meters, will be operated by Arianespace from the Spaceport in French Guiana. Vega will use the Spaceport's ELA-1 complex, which was the launch base for the original Ariane 1 vehicle. The Vega launch control room already exists, and the former Ariane 1 launch pad is being retrofitted for its new operational life.

Vega will have an essential role within the family of European launchers, joining Ariane 5 (which is optimized for large satellites on missions to geostationary transfer orbit, and low Earth flights with very heavy payloads), and Soyuz (tailored for medium weight payloads for low Earth orbit and certain small GTO spacecraft).

An Arianespace team fully dedicated to Vega activity was created by the company in early 2003.

Vega is being developed within a program organized by the European Space Agency (ESA). Italy is the lead nation, with the launcher's prime contractor role held by ELV S.p.A., a joint company of Avio S.p.A. and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

Vega's first stage will be powered by the P80 advanced solid propellant motor developed and qualified by Avio with the French space agency (CNES). The stage features a novel filament-wound casing structure - paving the way to future applications on a new generation of boosters for Ariane 5.

Vega's second and third stages (designated Zefiro 23 and Zefiro 9, respectively) also use solid propellant motors, and the launcher is topped off by the bi-propellant liquid upper stage (called AVUM - Attitude and Vernier Upper Module). The liftoff mass of Vega will be 139 metric tons.

In addition to the Vega program role of Italy and France, other participating European countries are Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Vega's first qualification flight in 2009 is expected to be followed by launches at an average rate of 2 missions per year.