Launch announced a success on the webcast
European Space AgencyLaunch Successful
LARES-2 (Maiden flight)
Vega-C
Historical mission record
This page records Vega-C | LARES-2 (Maiden flight) and its reported outcome: Launch Successful. The date above is a historical record.
Source record updated . This is a source update, not a confirmed launch time.
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The latest on this mission
What changed?
Liftoff
New T-0
Mission status
Launch Successful
Status reported by the mission data provider.
LAUNCH SITEGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Mission
Maiden flight of the Vega-C launch vehicle, carrying the LARES-2 passive satellite. It is a 40 cm diameter sphere with laser mirrors to study the Earth gravitational field and relativistic effects. Also onboard are six European research cubesats.
- Launch vehicle
- Vega-C
- Mission type
- Earth Science
- Destination orbit
- Medium Earth Orbit
- Launch pad
- Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
- Provider
- European Space Agency
The vehicle
Published configuration and flight history.
Launch vehicle
Vega-C
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.
- Height
- 34.8 m
- Diameter
- 3 m
- Stages
- 4
- Recorded launches
- 6
- First flight
- 2022-07-13
Recorded timing
This is a mission record, not an upcoming calendar appointment.
Instantaneous windowPublished target
SCHEDULED MOMENT
A single scheduled moment. The schedule may change before launch.
Launch site & orbit
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
The mission in perspective
Launch site & orbit
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Understand this orbit
Coverage & sources
Links supplied by the mission data provider.
Coverage and times may change.
Further reading
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