Arianespace has published the findings from an Independent Inquiry Commission tasked with analyzing the failure of Vega Flight VV15. Vega failed during the launch of the Falcon Eye-1 satellite in July. The overview concludes the second stage failed 14 seconds into its burn, via a sudden and violent event via a \u201cthermo-structural failure in the forward dome \u201d resulting in vehicle breakup.<\/p>\n
Vega had a flawless launch record ahead of the VV15 flight, with 14 successes as Arianespace\u2019s small launcher tasked with dealing with customer demand outside of its Ariane 5 and Soyuz launch contracts.<\/p>\n
Falcon Eye-1 was its 12th Earth observation mission, the first of two spacecraft for the United Arab Emirates\u2019 FalconEye satellite system.<\/p>\n
Vega\u2019s launch appeared nominal, with the first stage booster firing the rocket and payload from the ELA-1 pad at the European Spaceport in French Guiana.<\/p>\n
The first stage\u2019s P80 burned for one minute and 54 seconds, propelling the rocket to a velocity of 1.78 kilometers per second (3,980 miles per hour) and an altitude of 53 kilometers (33 miles, 29 nautical miles).<\/p>\n
The first stage separated at burnout, with the second stage supposed to ignite its Zefiro 23 motor almost immediately for what was supposed to be a one-minute, 43-second burn.<\/p>\n
Views from the live webcast didn\u2019t appear to show the second stage lighting up, although this has since been revealed to the fault of the views attained by the long-range cameras. It was flagged as a worry soon after controllers started to move to their phones and appeared concerned at the status of the launch.<\/p>\n