Future Vega launcher models showcased

(ANSA) - Rome, June 22 - Italian-made rocket launchers will be ever more advanced in the coming years.
    After the Vega C, which is expected to be launched for the first time in 2019, there will be Vega Evolution (also known as 'Vega E') and Vega Light. The models of these future launchers are exhibited at the International Paris Air Show Le Bourgetin and, as their predecessors were, they were designed and built by Avio. "Vega E marks a further simplification compared with Vega C and its first launch is scheduled for 2024," Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said. It is a simplified version, he added, since the third stage with a solid propellant has been eliminated and replaced by a single stage with liquid propellant (liquid oxygen and methane), which combines the third and fourth. "It will have a three-ton load capacity, compared with Vega C's 2.3," Ranzo went on to say, "and it will be much more flexible", to the point of being able to release small satellites into different orbits. After Vega E there will be Vega Light, which is currently in the research and development stage. Ranzo said that the aim is to have a "mini-launcher for satellites weighing 300-350 kilograms. It could be a possible development to meet market demand."