Tonight, the Arianespace-operated Vega rocket is set to embark on its first mission of the year, launching 12 satellites into orbit. The event will be live-streamed, and you can tune in to witness the action.
Scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, the Vega launch is planned for 9:36 p.m. EDT on October 6 (0136 GMT on October 7). You can watch the launch live here on Space.com, courtesy of Arianespace, or directly via the company’s platform.
The Vega rocket stands at an impressive height of 100 feet (30 meters) and is specifically designed for launching relatively small payloads. It boasts the capability to transport up to 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) to a circular orbit located 435 miles (700 kilometers) above Earth, as outlined in Arianespace’s specifications.
Having made its debut in February 2012, the Vega rocket has been deployed on 22 missions thus far. This mission is designated as VV23, representing the first flight for the standard Vega variant since November 2021. Its enhanced counterpart, the Vega-C, has seen two missions, with the latter, in December 2022, resulting in a failure attributed to a nozzle flaw in the rocket’s second stage.
VV23 carries two primary payloads: THEOS-2 (Thailand Earth Observation System-2), weighing 919 pounds (417 kg), designed for Earth imaging and commissioned by the government of Thailand; and FormoSat-7R/Triton, developed by Taiwan’s space agency. FormoSat-7R/Triton, weighing 531 pounds (241 kg), is equipped with the Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R), a technology that captures signals reflecting off the sea surface. This data aids scientists in calculating wind patterns over oceans, contributing to improved typhoon intensity and trajectory forecasts, and it will be shared with the global meteorology community.
In addition to these primary payloads, VV23 will carry 10 other satellites for six different customers. Detailed information about these additional payloads can be found in the press release. Altogether, the 12 satellites slated for launch tonight collectively weigh 2,738 pounds (1,242 kg), as per Arianespace’s specifications.
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