The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
With its successful qualification flight in February 2012, ESA’s Vega launcher operates from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Vega is a single body launcher with three solid propulsion stages and an additional liquid propulsion upper module used for attitude and orbit control, and satellite release.
Vega was specially designed to provide Europe with the capacity to economically place satellites weighing 300 kg to 2500 kg into low orbits, from polar to equatorial, and is most suitable for small satellites for Earth observation and science. It also offers different payload configurations, from a single launch to multiple launches. Its reference mission is to carry 1500 kg into a 700 km-high polar orbit.
Vega complements the family of launchers already available from Europe’s Spaceport: Ariane 5 and the Russian Soyuz launcher.