Vega goes commercial

At Europe's Spaceport, Vega is being prepared for its third flight. This will be a commercial flight operated by Arianespace to launch the first Earth observation satellite of Kazakhstan.

After its qualification in February 2012, ESA had planned four promotional missions to introduce Vega to the satellite market - the so-called 'VERTA' flights or Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment programme - aiming at demonstrating the flexibility of the Vega launch system. But customers did not wait.

ESA is currently adapting its launcher programmes to fit to the evolving satellite market, while at the same time maintaining independent access to space for Europe.

This video shows the Vega launch campaign in Kourou, as well as images of Soyuz and Ariane 5 with graphics of Ariane 6 and includes an interview with Gaele Winters, ESA Director of Launchers.