Space & Astronautics News

Vega’s P80 solid-propellant engine will be ignited first and a fraction of a second later the vehicle will lift off. It will burn out and separate at 1 min 54 sec. The Zefiro-23 second stage will ignite one second later and be jettisoned 3 min 22 sec into the flight. About 16 seconds later, the Zefiro-9 third stage will ignite. The fairing protecting the payload during the climb through Earth’s atmosphere will be discarded at 3 min 43 sec, followed by Zefiro-9 separation at 5 min 47 sec. The first firing of the AVUM liquid-propellant fourth stage will begin at 5 min 54 sec; the second will begin at 48 min 7 sec. At 55 min 5 sec into the flight, Italy’s LARES laser-ranging satellite will separate from the upper stage. AVUM’s third burn starting at 66 min 10 sec will be followed by the separation of ALMaSat-1 and the seven CubeSats at 70 min 35 sec. Vega’s flight will be completed 81 min after first-stage ignition. - courtesy of European Space Agency - Space & Astronautics News