ITALIAN-BUILT VEGA SATELLITE CARRIER LAUNCHED
By Christopher Livesay
07 maggio, 15:27
(ANSA) - Rome, May 7 - The European Space Agency's newest
rocket satellite carrier was launched successfully into space
early Tuesday.Vega, which was built outside Rome, took off from the ESA's launch facility in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying with it three satellites, two of which will track land cover and vegetation changes over the entire globe every two of days, the other will perform experiments. "The success of the Vega launch shows that investments in research and innovation create a model for the Italian hi-tech industry," said Italian Premier Enrico Letta. "It can and must represent a springboard for economic growth in the country and in Europe, especially during an age of crisis". The launch was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed due to dangerous winds.
The ESA mission is Vega's second, which aims to open up space for small satellites built by European countries, which are investing roughly one billion euros in the rocket. The first mission took place on February 13, 2012.
The satellites launched Tuesday were released into three different orbits, demonstrating the rocket's versatility. The two monitoring the Earth's vegetation are the ESA's own Proba-V satellite and Vietnam's VNREDSat1A.
The third satellite is Estonia's first ever, the 1.3-kilogram ESTCube1, designed and built by students from the University of Tartu to deploy a 10-meter-long tether and demonstrate electrostatic manoeuvring through the plasma flow. Scientists hope the experiments will pave new ground in eventually developing solar sails for interplanetary travel in the future. Proba-V is flying in the same orbit as France's ageing Spot-5 satellite in order to pick up where it leaves off upon retirement next year. The spent upper portion of Vega was sent to re-enter Earth on a trajectory that abides by new debris regulations.
The rest will be used in future launches scheduled in the coming months. "Vega has confirmed that it is ready to deliver high-quality service for small payloads to low Earth orbit," said Antonio Fabrizi, ESA's director of satellite launchers. The successful launch was heralded by the CEO of Avio, the Italian company who made Vega. "It demonstrates once again the extraordinary potential of Vega's technology," said Francesco Caio. "It's the product of a European project, but its soul is all Italian". Technological innovations introduced by Vega, added Caio, "have allowed for a generational leap in satellites systems in orbit," thanks to the use of carbon fiber, solid propulsion with electric controls, elimination of space waste and cost reduction.
"All this opens up further prospects of access to space for universities and research centers, so they can invest at a lower cost, in technologies that improve the quality of our lives," he added.
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