Vega lifts off

On 2 September 2020, Vega flight VV16 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana to deliver 53 light satellites into two separate Sun-synchronous orbits demonstrating a new dispenser called the Small Spacecraft Mission Service, or SSMS.

Vega's SSMS rideshare missions will maximise the number of satellites on each launch thus lowering the cost per ridesharing customer. The SSMS can be used for a dedicated rideshare or to fit clusters of small satellites on the launch of a large satellite.