Vega-C Rocket Successfully Returns to Flight with Sentinel-1C Launch After 2022 Failure

Europe's Vega-C rocket has resumed operations, achieving a successful launch on December 5, 2024, after a two-year suspension due to a failure during its previous mission. The rocket, operated by French aerospace company Arianespace, carried the Copernicus Sentinel-1C Earth-observation satellite into orbit. The launch took place at 4:20 p.m. EST from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, following a postponed attempt caused by a mechanical issue on December 4.

Launch Details and Mission Objectives

As per sources, the Vega-C rocket deployed Sentinel-1C into a sun-synchronous orbit approximately 435 miles (700 km) above Earth. The satellite, part of the European Union's Copernicus Earth-observation programme, serves as a replacement for Sentinel-1B, which became non-operational due to a technical fault in 2022. Sentinel-1C will work alongside Sentinel-1A to capture high-resolution imagery of Earth's surface, providing critical data for environmental monitoring and disaster management.

Christoph Kautz, Director of Satellite Navigation and Earth Observation at the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), stated during a prelaunch briefing that over 30 petabytes of data have been generated since the Sentinel-1 programme began. He also noted the programme's significant role in supplying users with over 150,000 products derived from this data.

Technological Updates to Vega-C and Future Plans

Reportedly, the two-year hiatus of Vega-C was attributed to a redesign of its second-stage rocket engine nozzle, following the failure of its second mission in December 2022. Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, which designs the rocket under a European Space Agency (ESA) contract, described the relaunch as a critical step in fulfilling 15 upcoming missions in Vega-C's backlog, in a statment.

The ESA has also announced plans to replace Vega-C with Vega-E, a next-generation rocket featuring an upgraded liquid oxygen-methane engine, known as the M-10. According to ESA Director of Space Transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen, in a statement, contracts for its implementation are expected to be signed by year-end.

Sentinel-1A, operational since 2014, is slated for replacement by Sentinel-1D in September 2025, further enhancing the constellation's observational capabilities.

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Further reading: Vega-C rocket, Sentinel-1C, Earth-observation satellite, Arianespace, Copernicus program, space launch

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