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
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Vega-C components shown with the companies that make them. The rocket is shown with the logos used on its inaugural flight, VV21, that flew on 13 July 2022.
Vega-C increases performance to about 2.3 t polar orbit, compared to the 1.5 t capability of its predecessor, Vega. For flight VV21, Vega-C’s payload was LARES-2, a scientific mission of the Italian space agency ASI as well as six research CubeSats from France, Italy and Slovenia.
Vega-C is a single-body rocket nearly 35 m high that weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad. It comprises four stages: three solid propellant stages, an upper fourth stage powered by a reignitable liquid-propellant engine, and a payload fairing.
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