Vega flight VV02 was the second flight of the

Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, a ...

launcher. It occurred from the

Guiana Space Centre The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximatel ...

on 7 May 2013 at 02:06:31UTC.

Payload

The flight was a multi-payload mission that deployed 3 satellites (2

Earth observation Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or through direct-contact sensors ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

s and 1 educational

CubeSat A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...

) into orbit, with a total payload mass of about including the satellites themselves (about 255 kg) and the satellites adapter and dispenser.

PROBA-V

PROBA-Vegetation, with a mass of , was in the upper position and was the first satellite to be separated, approximately 55 minutes and 27 seconds after liftoff. Its target was a quasi-circular sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of and an inclination of 98.73°.

VNREDSat-1

VNREDSat-1, with a mass of , was in the lower position. Its target orbit was a quasi-circular sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of and an inclination of 98.1°, to be deployed 1 hour, 57 minutes and 24 seconds after liftoff.

ESTCube-1

The ''Estonian Student Satellite-1'' ( ESTCube-1), with a 1U volume and a mass of , was the only

onboard Vega's second flight. It was accommodated in the lower position of the structure, and was deployed by the ISIPOD dispenser 3 minutes and 24 seconds after VNREDSat-1 in approximately the same orbit. It operated for more than 2 years before contact was completely lost on 19 May 2015.

Mission description

Launch date

After being postponed twice, the successful Vega flight took place on 7 May 2013 at 02:06:31UTC (6 May 2013 at 23:06:31 local time) from the ELV launch pad in

Kourou Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas ...

. It was the

Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy ...

launch of 2013 after Ariane 5 VA212, followed by another 3

Ariane 5 Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads in ...

and 2

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз ( Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социалис ...

flights.

Orbit

The mission was planned to last 2 hours and 48 seconds, placing its respectively primary and

secondary payload Secondary payload, also known as rideshare payload, is a smaller-sized payload transported to orbit on a launch vehicle that is mostly paid for—and with the date and time of launch and the orbital trajectory determined—by the entity that co ...

s into quasi-circular sun-synchronous orbits at altitudes of respectively and .

References

{{Arianespace launches Vega (rocket) 2013 in French Guiana 2013 in spaceflight Rocket launches in 2013