Vega send-off: Final launch before Europe's new Vega-C rocket takes over

FRANCE 24 English

The takeoff of the European Vega rocket has been postponed by 24 hours due to electrical problems with ground connections. This flight is set to be the last mission for the European light launcher before the transition to Vega-C, a more powerful and modern launcher. This is set to be an important milestone, a crucial moment that will determine the future of European space.   Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

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00:00Now, the European Vega rocket is due to blast off into space this evening after a 24-hour delay due to electrical issues.

00:08The flight will be the last for the European light launcher before the transition to the Vega-C,

00:14which is more powerful and more modern.

00:17And that is an important milestone in the future of European space travel.

00:23To tell us a bit about this, our science editor Julia Seager is with me now.

00:27Julia, tell us first of all then about this latest launch.

00:30So, it's set to actually happen.

00:32So, we have the confirmation, as you said, they tweeted,

00:35Arianespace tweeted earlier today saying that they've made all the additional checks,

00:40everything is back to normal and they'll be able to launch indeed later on tonight.

00:43But whatever happens, this will be the last mission of Vega, the Vega launcher,

00:48which is designed by the Italian firm Avio.

00:50It's served for 12 years and actually has a really good track record

00:55with 19 successful flights out of the 21 attempts.

00:58This is an entire page in European history that we're actually going to be turning.

01:02This is a light launcher, which means that it launches small light satellites into lower orbit,

01:08usually scientific or Earth observation satellites, for instance.

01:12On this last mission, for instance, it's going to send a satellite called Sentinel-2C.

01:17It's part of the European Copernicus program, which is absolutely amazing, as you can see here.

01:22Many satellites orbiting Earth, getting a lot of different data.

01:25Here you can see that they already launched 2A and 2B and 2C is just going to add to that.

01:30And they're going to be orbiting Earth, getting a lot of data

01:32and contributing to very precise applications about agriculture,

01:37monitoring water quality and managing natural disasters.

01:41And I'll be glad to tell you more about the Copernicus program in another segment.

01:45But let's go back to why this last launch is so important.

01:48It's important because right after that, Vega-C, which is the new version,

01:53the more high-tech version, more powerful and modern version, is set to take over.

01:57The problem is that it's been grounded since 2022,

02:01when there was an accident and they had to self-destruct the vessel a couple of minutes after launch.

02:07So what's going to be even more perhaps strategic is going to be the first launch,

02:13when it goes back to the launch pad of Vega-C.

02:16Here there's a lot of pressure on ESA's and Arianespace's shoulders.

02:21They can't get it wrong because it will determine,

02:24the success of this flight will determine or not, if Europe is back in the space race.

02:29Right, Julia. That's because Europe as well is emerging from something of a crisis with its launcher.

02:35That's right. We're calling it actually the launcher crisis,

02:38because what happened is that for several months,

02:41Europe just didn't have independent access to space anymore.

02:44It wasn't able to send the satellites that it wanted to,

02:47let it be in lower orbit or higher orbit.

02:49So if you look at the heavy launchers, Ariane 5 was retired.

02:52It was impossible to call upon the Russian Soyuz because of geopolitical reasons.

02:58And at the same time, Ariane 6 was running very late.

03:01So since then, we've done the inaugural flight of Ariane 6,

03:04which has given more hope to Europe again.

03:07But that was the situation on the heavy launchers.

03:09On the light launchers, same thing, the accident with Vega-C.

03:12So even though there's a lot of cooperation in space,

03:15you still need to be sovereign and you need to have independent access to space,

03:19once again, for the lower orbit or for the higher orbit,

03:22because there are different types of satellites.

03:24Right. And just tell us finally, then, a bit about Vega-C.

03:27So Vega-C, what happened is that there was actually a problem with the engine.

03:30They've done a lot of different modifications.

03:32They now say that they're ready, a couple of few tests in October,

03:35but they'll be ready to launch as early as the end of November.

03:39So we'll have to wait and see for that.

03:41ESA is planning several launches for 2025,

03:44six launches for Ariane 6 and four for Vega-C.

03:48You have to understand that this is a huge technical challenge,

03:51but it also is a commercial challenge for Europe.

03:53They're going to have to find enough launch orders

03:56to be able to make this industry profitable.

03:58And what we're seeing is that they're really struggling to find their place

04:01in this new market, which has changed radically,

04:04especially since SpaceX came into the race.

04:08Julia Seager, thanks very much indeed.

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