Vega poised for commercial launches

26 April 2013 - The second Vega launch marks the transition to commercial exploitation, showcasing a mature launcher with increased capabilities and flexibility to meet the different demands of the launchers market. On 3 May, Vega flight VV02 will demonstrate extended capabilities made possible in part by the addition of the Vespa payload adapter. The Vespa, or 'Vega Secondary Payload Adapter', can carry multiple payloads and, on this mission, it will release three satellites into two different orbits. The Proba-V prime payload is the first of four ESA missions to use Vega as part of the Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment programme to demonstrate the system's flexibility. Proba-V carries a reduced version of the Vegetation camera currently flying on the Spot satellites to provide a daily overview of global vegetation growth. The Vietnam Natural Resources, Environment and Disaster Monitoring Satellite - VNRedsat - was built by Astrium for the Vietnamese government. ESTCube-1 will test advanced solar sail technologies and help to establish an Estonian infrastructure for future space projects - it also showcases the possibility offered by this launcher to carry cubesats, a nice opportunity for European Member States to make simple space missions.