Europe's small launcher

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.