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Vega September 2, 2020

Liftoff of Arianespace’s rideshare mission with Vega for small satellites

The light-lift Vega launcher has lifted off from the Spaceport in French Guiana on its Proof of Concept fight for Arianespace’s Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS), which opens new launch services opportunities for the rapidly growing small satellites market.

Departing the Spaceport’s Vega Launch Complex at the 10:51:10 p.m. precise moment of liftoff (local time in French Guiana), Vega will deploy its 53 satellite passengers during a flight lasting 1 hr. and 44 min. – involving a sequence of seven payload deployments from the SSMS dispenser.

Designated Flight VV16 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system, this mission to Sun-synchronous orbit is carrying 46 small CubeSats and seven microsatellites from 21 customers in 13 countries. Once deployed, the spacecraft will serve various applications – including Earth observation, telecommunications, science, technology and education.

 

More details are available in the VV16 launch kit:

Vega Flight VV16
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Vega September 2, 2020

Launch operations resume for Vega Flight VV16

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