Launch
ɸ-sat-1 – an enhancement of the Federated Satellite Systems mission (FSSCat), launches on a Vega rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in mid-June 2020.
Vega joined the family of launch vehicles at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in 2012. It has demonstrated impressive capabilities ranging from equatorial to Sun-synchronous orbits, from orbital to suborbital missions, from single to multiple payloads.
Unlike most small rockets, Vega is able to lift payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus additional small satellites and place them into separate orbits on a single mission. This has made reaching space cheaper, quicker and easier.
With a height of 30 m and diameter of 3 m, the launcher can place 300–1500 kg satellites, into the polar and low-Earth orbits used for many scientific and Earth observation missions. Vega was used to launch ESA’s Earth observation Aeolus wind mission in 2018.
The Vega launch site is located at the previous ELA-1 complex, originally used for the now retired Ariane 1 and Ariane 3 missions.
ɸ-sat-1 shares its ride into orbit with over 50 other small satellites.
