Topic summary
Vega E
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Vega C.
Vega E
Building on Vega C+, the Vega E (or Vega Evolution) is a further development of the Vega family with the Zefiro 9 and AVUM+ third and fourth stages replaced with a single upper stage powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane. The improvements are expected to improve payload capacity by 25% over Vega C. This design would enable multiple satellites to be launched into different orbits on a single launch. The engine for this new upper stage, the M10, was the result of a collaboration between Avio and Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (KBKhA). Successful testing of the M10 engine was conducted in 2022, and the maiden flight of Vega E is anticipated in 2027. Launch Complex 3 at the Guiana Space Centre, initially built for the Ariane 5, is being refurbished to support Vega E launches.