{"id":9962,"date":"2024-11-29T00:51:35","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T16:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/vega-c-return-to-flight-launch-slips-a-day-to-allow-for-further-precautionary-checks\/"},"modified":"2024-11-29T00:51:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T16:51:35","slug":"vega-c-return-to-flight-launch-slips-a-day-to-allow-for-further-precautionary-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/vega-c-return-to-flight-launch-slips-a-day-to-allow-for-further-precautionary-checks\/","title":{"rendered":"Vega-C return to flight launch slips a day to allow for \u2018further precautionary checks\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Copernicus Sentinel-1C standing proud on its payload adapter between the two fairing halves that will protect the spacecraft on the launch pad and on its ascent towards space. Sentinel-1C, the third satellite in the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, is set to launch in December 2024 on a Vega-C rocket from Europe\u2019s Spaceport in French Guiana. Image: ESA\/M. P\u00e9doussaut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Updated 10:58 a.m. EST (1558 UTC) on Nov. 29: Arianespace confirmed the new target launch date.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The return to flight of the Vega-C rocket will have to wait at least one more day. The announcement, from Arianespace, the company managing the mission, came less than a week ahead of the planned launch.<\/p>\n

The mission, which is referred to as VV25, will see the launch of the Sentinel-1C spacecraft to a Sun-synchronous Earth orbit. The last time a Vega-C launched was on Dec. 20, 2022, which ended in failure due to an anomaly on the upper stage.<\/p>\n

St\u00e9phane Isra\u00ebl, the CEO of Arianespace, the company overseeing the launch operations, confirmed the one day slip during a prelaunch briefing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will have a very limited postponement of the mission due to additional checks and certification on the launcher. We will push, hopefully by one day, the mission,\u201d Isra\u00ebl said. \u201cWe will confirm to you on Friday that it is limited to one day, but this is, today, I would say, our baseline expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an integrated team across Arianespace, ESA, Avionics and so on, we deem (it) appropriate to conduct further checks and further activities to provide even better flight worthiness to the launch,\u201d said Giulio Ranzo, the CEO of Avio, the company that will take over managing Vega-C launches beginning with the VV29 mission. \u201cIt is something we typically do in a culture of doubt that where we see something we are not completely satisfied with, we\u2019d love to intervene and conduct more checks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think it is important, as a policy we have in Europe, to ensure the maximum flight worthiness, that we do so, in particular for this very relevant flight in full transparency, by the way, with the customer. That is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Return to flight<\/h4>\n

The nearly two-year gap between the last flight of a Vega-C rocket and the forthcoming one has been filled with a series of tests to validate the corrective actions taken on the upper stage.<\/p>\n

Those included a pair of hot fire tests of Avio\u2019s Zefiro-40 engine, the most recent of which took place on Oct. 3, 2024.<\/p>\n