ESA’s Vega C Rocket Fails on Second Mission, Destroys Two Satellite Payloads

The European Space Agency's (ESA) latest rocket launch had ended in failure.

The agency's Vega C rocket failed to properly reach Earth's orbit on its second launch on Dec. 20, destroying two its payload of two Airbus Pleiades satellites in the process.

The rocket previously launched successfully on July 13 when it carried a set of institutional payloads, per Space News.

ESA Vega C Rocket Launch Failure Details

Arianespace, the aerospace company that designed and manufactured the Vega C rocket, mentioned in its official Twitter account that the rocket encountered an anomaly approximately two and a half minutes after takeoff.

According to a Space.com article, the rocket took off on Dec. 20 at 8:47 EST, carrying two Airbus Pleiades satellites into orbit as part of its mission.

Although things went well initially, with its first stage, known as the P120C, doing its job as expected, its second stage, known as the Zefiro 40, did not.

The aerospace company detected the anomaly around 2 minutes and 27 seconds into Vega C's flight, causing a malfunction and destroying its payload in the process.

While data analyses are in progress to determine the reason behind the anomaly, on-screen telemetry showed that the rocket was already deviating from its planned trajectory within four minutes of its takeoff during the burn of its Zefiro-40 second stage.

Stéphane Israël, chief executive of Arianespace, said that the company detected an underpressure on the Zefiro-40. It then noticed the deviation of the rocket's trajectory and "very strong anomalies" after discovering the under pressure.

As such, he had to consider the mission was lost.

Although he did not provide additional details about the problem, he did say that Arianespace would work with its partners to better understand why Zefiro-40 had an underpressure.

He also expressed his apologies to Airbus Defense and Space, the owners of the Pleiades satellites that were destroyed as a result of the rocket's malfunction.

The launch in question is the second Vega C launched after its inaugural first launch on July 13. It is also its first failed one in history.

Vega C Rocket Specifications, Features

ESA's Vega C rocket is an upgraded version of the Vega commercial rocket for small-to-medium-sized satellite payloads.

Both rockets are developed and manufactured by Arianespace.

The aerospace company gave the Vega C a new solid-fuel engine, improved second stage, and larger fairing that enables it to carry heavier and larger payloads.

To be specific, the Vega C can carry up to 2,300 kilograms in Low Earth Orbit - 60% more than the original Vega rocket, per an earlier Space News article.

Thanks to these upgrades, it is capable of bringing a variety of payloads into space, including the launching of a small constellation of satellites simultaneously through its dedicated multiple-launch structure.

Like its contemporaries, the Vega C is also reusable, allowing it to be used in another launch after refitting it with the necessary hardware, per the ESA.