FiatAvio Leads Vega Program For New Light Space Launcher

Europe is finally going ahead with plans for a new light space launcher to complement the much heavier Ariane, in a new program led by FiatAvio.

The Vega launcher is designed to inject payloads up to 1.5 ton, such as Earth observation and scientific satellites for civil applications, into circular polar orbit (about 700 km). Communications satellites would be a complementary market.

Launch cost would be only $10,000 to 15,000 per kilo, some 15% less than comparable costs today, according to Saverio Strati, chief executive officer of FiatAvio.

Arianespace is expected to operate and commercialize the launch services, in order to ensure good synergy with Ariane.

"In Europe we cannot dedicate all our effort to just the geostationary market," in which Arianespace is a major player, Strati says. "It is very important to be in both markets."

He describes Vega as the first in a building block system of launchers that can tailored in size to their payload and its mission so as make the launch as cheap and efficient as possible.

Vega is a three-stage launch vehicle, with all using solid propellant. The first stage is derived from an Ariane 5 MPS solid booster with a new motor being developed by FiatAvio and Snecma, while the second stage uses the Zefiro rocket engine developed by FiatAvio. Zefiro has already completed its static firing tests on the test stand at Salto di Quirra, Sardinia.

Vega is to be 28 meters high with a mass of 130 tons at lift-off. First flight is scheduled for the end of 2005.

It has taken nearly 10 years of discussion within Europe to launch the Vega program, with the green light finally coming from Brussels in December. Originally France was to develop the third stage, but that country decided to limit its participation in the program to development of the first stage motor. As a result, a new company-ELV- was set up this year to play the role of Vega prime contractor.

ELV is owned 70% by FiatAvio and 30% by the Italian Space Agency.

By John Morris