 A Vega launch vehicle, similar to the one used in Vega Flight VV01 | |
| Vega launch | |
|---|---|
| Launch | 13 February 2012, 10:00:00 UTC |
| Operator | Arianespace |
| Pad | Kourou ELV |
| Payload | |
| Outcome | Success |
| Vega launches | |
Vega flight VV01 (called officially Vega qualification flight VV01) is the maiden flight of the Vega launcher. It occurred from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) on 13 February 2012 at 10:00:00 UTC. [1]
The maiden flight was a multi-payload mission that deployed 9 satellites (2 science satellites and 7 educational CubeSats) into space, with a total payload mass of about 680 kg (1,500 lb) including the satellites themselves (about 400 kg) and the satellite adapters and dispensers. [2] The 3 CubeSat dispensers were capable of deploying up to 3 CubeSats each or 9 in total, however 7 only of the selected 9 were accepted for flight. [3]
The LAser RElativity Satellite (LARES) was the primary payload of the maiden flight, and the first to be separated. It had a circular target orbit with an altitude of 1,450 km (900 mi) and an inclination of 69.5°. It consists in a sphere made of tungsten alloy with a mass of approximately 386 kg (851 lb) and a diameter of about 37.6 cm (14.8 in). Due to its unusually high mass density, the satellite had to be held and deployed by a special separation subsystem (SSEP). [2] [3]
The Alma Mater Satellite-1 (ALMASat-1) was the secondary payload of the flight, with a mass of 13.56 kg (29.9 lb) and a cubic shape with side length of about 30 cm (12 in). As such, both its orbit and adapter were constrained by LARES's. An anomaly during its separation into a targeted elliptical 345 x 1450 km altitude orbit at an inclination of 69.5° was detected a posteriori, and it is suspected that it might be due to the low voltage required by LARES and a thermal imbalance of its separation system (AD-SS). First signals of the spacecraft were received on 14 February 2012, however a few days later, an on-board failure occurred which eventually resulted in a contact loss. [4]
The Educational SaTellite @ politecnico di toRino (e-st@r) was one of the 7 educational CubeSats onboard Vega's maiden flight, with approximately the same elliptical target orbit as ALMASat-1. The operations have been affected by unexpected tumbling of the CubeSat, which ceased operations in December 2012. [5]
Goliat was another one of the 7 educational CubeSats onboard Vega's maiden flight, and also had approximately the same elliptical target orbit as ALMASat-1. The satellite could not stabilise its attitude and its communications have been intermittent before contact was lost permanently after the last contact on 18 February 2012. It re-entered the atmosphere on 2 January 2015 and disintegrated. [6]
The Magyar Satellite-1 MaSat-1 was another one of the 7 educational CubeSats onboard Vega's maiden flight, and also had approximately the same elliptical target orbit as ALMASat-1. It reentered Earth's atmosphere on 9 January 2015, after almost 3 years of operations. [7]
PW-Sat-1 was another one of the 7 educational CubeSats onboard Vega's maiden flight, and also had approximately the same elliptical target orbit as ALMASat-1. It did not deploy its LEONIDAS tail as commanded in April and May 2012 for a planned re-entry in 2013. It turned silent on 23 December 2012 and finally reentered Earth's atmosphere on 28 October 2014. [8]
The Radiation on Bipolar University Satellite Test Application (ROBUSTA) comprised another one of the 7 educational CubeSats onboard Vega's maiden flight that also had a target orbit similar to ALMASat-1's. The satellite emitted a weak signal at the beginning of the mission, but no further communication has been received since. Investigations identified a fabrication defect which prevents the CubeSat's batteries from being charged. [9]
UniCubeSat-GG was another one of the 7 educational CubeSats onboard Vega's maiden flight, and also had approximately the same elliptical target orbit as ALMASat-1. It emitted data for only 1 to 2 weeks after launch. [10]
Xatcobeo was another one of the 7 educational CubeSats onboard Vega's maiden flight, and also had approximately the same elliptical target orbit as ALMASat-1. It also experienced unexpected tumbling. [11]
The successful Vega qualification flight took place on 13 February 2012 at 10:00:00 UTC from the ELV launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana. [12] [13] It was the first Arianespace launch of 2012, followed by 7 Ariane 5 and 2 Soyuz flights.
The mission was planned to last 1 hour and 21 minutes, placing the primary payload into its circular orbit at an altitude of about 1,450 km (900 mi) and an inclination of about 69.5° and the secondary payloads into corresponding elliptical orbits with a perigee of about 345 km. [1]
Vega is an expendable launch system in use by Arianespace jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Development began in 1998 and the first launch took place from the Centre Spatial Guyanais on 13 February 2012.
e-st@r is a miniaturised satellite built by the Politecnico di Torino. It is a 1U CubeSat design with a 10 cm side and a mass not exceeding 1.33 kg.
UniCubeSat-GG is a Miniaturized satellite built by the Sapienza University of Rome. It was launched into Low Earth Orbit on the maiden flight of Arianespace's Vega rocket on 13 February 2012. The launch was a multi-payload mission shared with LARES, ALMASat-1, Goliat, MaSat-1, PW-Sat, ROBUSTA, e-st@r and Xatcobeo.
ESTCube-1 is the first Estonian satellite and first satellite in the world to attempt to use an electric solar wind sail (E-sail). It was launched on 7 May 2013 aboard Vega VV02 carrier rocket and successfully deployed into orbit. The CubeSat standard for nanosatellites was followed during the engineering of ESTCube-1, resulting in a 10×10×11.35 cm cube, with a volume of 1 liter and a mass of 1.048 kg.
Alexander, also known as PhoneSat 2.0 Beta or PhoneSat v2a is a technology demonstration satellite operated by NASA's Ames Research Center, which was launched in April 2013. Part of the PhoneSat programme, it was one of the first three PhoneSat spacecraft, and the first Phonesat-2.0 satellite, to be launched.
Graham, also known as PhoneSat 1.0a or PhoneSat v1a was a technology demonstration satellite operated by NASA's Ames Research Center, which was launched in April 2013. Part of the PhoneSat programme, it was one of the first three PhoneSat spacecraft to be launched.
Bell, also known as PhoneSat 1.0b or PhoneSat v1b was a technology demonstration satellite operated by NASA's Ames Research Center, which was launched in April 2013. Part of the PhoneSat programme, it was one of the first three PhoneSat spacecraft to be launched.
SHERPA is a commercial satellite dispenser developed by Andrews Space, a subsidiary of Spaceflight Industries, and was unveiled in 2012. The maiden flight was on 3 December 2018 on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, and it consisted of two separate unpropelled variants of the dispenser.
ArgoMoon is a CubeSat that will launch into a heliocentric orbit on Artemis 1, the maiden flight of the Space Launch System. The objective of the ArgoMoon spacecraft is to take detailed images of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage following Orion separation, an operation that will demonstrate the ability of a cubesat to conduct precise proximity maneuvers in deep space.
Vega flight VV02 was the second flight of the Vega launcher. It occurred from the Guiana Space Centre on 7 May 2013 at 02:06:31 UTC.
Vega flight VV03 is the third flight of the Vega launcher. It occurred from the Guiana Space Centre on 30 April 2014 at 01:35:15 UTC.
Vega flight VV05 is the Vega space launch of the Sentinel-2A satellite.
Vega flight VV07 is the 7th Vega space launch, of the PerúSAT-1 and 4 SkySat satellites.
Vega flight VV15 was the 15th flight of the Vega launcher, and its first failure.
Vega flight VV12 was the launch of the ADM-Aeolus satellite by the 12th Vega launcher.
Vega flight VV16, also called SSMS PoC Flight, was the 16th launch of the Vega rocket. The launch was also notable as it was the first Vega launch following the accident of the VV15 launch in July 2019 that caused the loss of FalconEye1 satellite.
PhiSat-1 is a CubeSat mission from the European Space Agency (ESA) that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Earth observation. The mission will collect a large number images from space in the visible, near-infrared and thermal-infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and then filter out the images which are covered with clouds using AI algorithms. This reduces the number of images to be downlinked from space and therefore improve efficiency. The PhiSat-1 mission has two main objectives:
Vega flight VV19 was the 19th launch of the Vega rocket.
Arianespace launches | ||
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| Ariane 5 |
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| Soyuz-ST | ||
| Vega |
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