Vega C

Model of Vega C at Paris Air Show 2015
Function	Small-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Avio
Country of origin	European multi-national[a]
Size
Height	34.8 m (114 ft)
Diameter	3.4 m (11 ft)
Mass	210,000 kg (460,000 lb)
Stages	4
Capacity
Payload to SSO
Altitude	700 km (430 mi)
Orbital inclination	90°
Mass	2,300 kg (5,100 lb)
Payload to polar orbit
Altitude	500 km (310 mi)
Orbital inclination	88°
Mass	2,250 kg (4,960 lb)
Payload to equatorial elliptical orbit
Altitude	apogee: 5,700 km (3,500 mi) perigee: 250 km (160 mi)
Orbital inclination	6°
Mass	1,700 kg (3,700 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Vega
Comparable	Alpha Kinetica 1 Epsilon Minotaur Tianlong-2 PSLV Soyuz-2.1v
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Guiana Space Centre, ELV
Total launches	3
Success(es)	2
Failure(s)	1 (VV22)
First flight	13 July 2022
Last flight	5 December 2024
First stage – P120C
Height	13.38 m (43.9 ft)
Diameter	3.4 m (11 ft)
Gross mass	155,027 kg (341,776 lb)
Propellant mass	141,634 kg (312,250 lb)
Maximum thrust	4,323 kN (972,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	279 s (2.74 km/s)
Burn time	135.7 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / AP / Al
Second stage – Zefiro 40
Height	8.07 m (26.5 ft)
Diameter	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Gross mass	40,477 kg (89,237 lb)
Propellant mass	36,239 kg (79,893 lb)
Maximum thrust	1,304 kN (293,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	293.5 s (2.878 km/s)
Burn time	92.9 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / AP / Al
Third stage – Zefiro 9
Height	4.12 m (13.5 ft)
Diameter	1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Gross mass	12,000 kg (26,000 lb)
Propellant mass	10,567 kg (23,296 lb)
Maximum thrust	317 kN (71,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	295.9 s (2.902 km/s)
Burn time	119.6 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / AP / Al
Fourth stage – AVUM+
Height	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
Diameter	2.18 m (7 ft 2 in)
Empty mass	698 kg (1,539 lb)
Propellant mass	492 kg (1,085 lb) of N2O4, 248 kg (547 lb) of UDMH
Powered by	1 × RD-843 (MEA)
Maximum thrust	2.42 kN (540 lbf)
Specific impulse	315.8 s (3.097 km/s)
Burn time	Up to 924.8 seconds (up to five burns)[b]
Propellant	UDMH / N2O4
[edit on Wikidata]

Vega C, or Vega Consolidation,^[1] is a European expendable, small-lift launch vehicle developed and produced by Avio. It is an evolution of the original Vega launcher, designed to offer greater launch performance and flexibility.

Approved for development by the European Space Agency (ESA) in December 2014, Vega C was designed to accommodate larger institutional payloads and compete effectively in the commercial launch market.^[2] Initially marketed and operated by Arianespace, the ESA decided in August 2024 to empower Avio to directly commercialize Vega C and seek non-governmental customers. This transition is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2025.^[3][4]

Vega C, like its predecessor, is designed to launch small satellites for scientific and Earth observation missions to polar and sun-synchronous low Earth orbits.^[5] The reference Vega C mission places a 2,300-kilogram (5,100 lb) spacecraft into a 700-kilometre (430 mi) polar orbit, representing an 800-kilogram (1,800 lb) or 60% increase over the original Vega.  

Named after Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra,^[6] the rocket is a single-body launcher (no strap-on boosters) with three solid and one liquid stage. While Avio of Italy leads the Vega program, contributions come from companies in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Vega C introduces several key advancements over the original Vega. The first stage has been replaced by the more powerful P120C, the "C" refers to its common design allowing it to be used as a booster for the Ariane 6 launcher, enabling shared development costs. The second stage features the upgraded Zefiro 40. While the AVUM+ (Attitude & Vernier Upper Module) fourth stage remains largely unchanged, the "+" reflects its increased propellant capacity. The third stage, Zefiro 9, remains the same.^[7]

Vega rockets are launched from the ELV launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre. The Vega C's maiden flight on 13 July 2022 successfully delivered LARES 2 and six other satellites to orbit.^[8] However, the second launch on 21 December 2022 experienced a failure of the Zefiro 40 second stage, resulting in the loss of two Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging satellites.^[9] Consequently, the next launch was delayed until late 2024 to allow for the rocket motor nozzle to be redesigned.^[10]

Building the Vega is a European multi-national effort led by Avio of Italy, which manages Vega development and oversees production as the prime contractor, and also builds the Zefiro 40, Zefiro 9 and AVUM+ stages. Europropulsion, a 50-50 joint venture of Avio and ArianeGroup, builds the P120C first stage. Dutch Space of the Netherlands builds the interstage between the first and second stages. The Italian Aerospace Research Centre builds the interstage between the second and third stages. Beyond Gravity of Switzerland builds the payload fairing and onboard GNC computer.^[12] SABCA of Belgium builds the thrust vector control systems.^[11]

Arianespace had indicated that the Vega C launcher is able to carry 2,300 kg (5,100 lb) to a circular polar orbit at an altitude of 700 km (430 mi).^[13]

Because of its ability to carry heavier payloads, Beyond Gravity had to redesign the fairing of the Vega C. The new fairing is 3.3 m (11 ft) in diameter and over 9 m (30 ft) tall, which offers nearly double the payload volume of the original Vega, which had a fairing of 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) in diameter and over 7.8 m (26 ft) tall.^[14]

This timeline of a typical Vega C ascent profile and associated sequence of events includes two AVUM+ boosts. However, the flight profile is optimized for each mission.

Building on Vega C, the Vega E (or Vega Evolution) is a further development of the Vega family with a larger P160C first stage and the Zefiro 9 and AVUM+ third and fourth stages replaced with a single upper stage powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane. The improvements are expected to improve payload capacity by 25% over Vega C.^[15] This design would enable multiple satellites to be launched into different orbits on a single launch. The engine for this new upper stage, the M10, was the result of a collaboration between Avio and Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (KBKhA).^[16][7] Successful testing of the engine was conducted in 2022,^[17] and the maiden flight of Vega E is anticipated in 2027.^[18] Launch Complex 3 at the Guiana Space Centre, which initially built for the Ariane 5, will be refurbished to support Vega E launches.^[15]

Avio also plans to develop a new methane-fueled first-stage engine with plans to introduce a partially reusable rocket to eventually replace the Vega.^[19]

• List of Vega launches
• Solid rocket
• Comparison of orbital launchers families
• Comparison of orbital launch systems

• Vega C – Arianespace
• Vega C – Avio
• Vega C – European Space Agency