Building Vega-C flight VV27
The Vega-C rocket getting prepared for launch of flight VV27. At 35 m tall, Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant-powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for precise placement of satellites into orbit.
Complementing the Ariane family to launch all types of payloads into their desired orbits, Vega-C ensures that Europe has versatile and independent access to space. ESA owns the Vega-C programme, working with Avio as prime contractor and design authority. Arianespace is the launch service provider for this launch.
Vega-C was launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 23:03 local time on 25 July (03:03 BST/04:03 CEST on 26 July). The flight, called VV27, was operated by Arianespace, and carried Airbus’s four CO3D satellites and French space agency CNES's MicroCarb mission
The four small satellites in the CO3D constellation (an abbreviation of the French 'Constellation Optique en 3D') are set to map the globe in three dimensions from low Earth orbit, to serve public and private sector needs.
MicroCarb is designed to map sources and sinks of carbon dioxide on a global scale. ESA coordinated and procured the launch of MicroCarb on behalf of the European Commission, as part of its In-Orbit Demonstration / In-Orbit Validation (IOD/IOV) programme.
ESA coordinated and procured the launch of MicroCarb on behalf of the European Commission, under its In-Orbit Demonstration / In-Orbit Validation (IOD/IOV) programme.
