The European Vega launch vehicle, which was supposed to launch two scientific satellites for remote sensing of the Earth, could not complete the mission by deviating from the trajectory. RIA Novosti reports. …
Vega Vega VV17 launched on Tuesday from Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the Spanish SEOSAT-Ingenio, owned by the European Space Agency, and the TARANIS satellite of the French National Center for Space Research
After ignition of the Avum upper stage engine, specialists recorded a deviation from the flight trajectory, after which it was decided to terminate the flight. Currently, experts are working to establish the reasons for the failure of the mission. According to RIA Novosti, citing a source in the rocket and space industry, the accident could have occurred due to the failure of the Ukrainian engine.
The first failure in the operation of the rocket occurred in July 2019, when the military satellite Falcon Eye1 of the United Arab Emirates was on board the carrier. The current failed launch was set to be the seventh this year and the seventeenth since its introduction in 2012.
Earlier it was reported that Arianespace decided to remove Ukrainian and Russian components in Vega and replace them with European counterparts as part of the modernization. The main engine of the fourth stage RD-843 for the light Vega rocket was developed by the Yuzhnoye design bureau and manufactured by Yuzhmash (Ukraine). Titanium fuel tanks for the carrier are produced by the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association (NPO) (Russia).
