Arianespace Vega Booster Lifted Off At About 10:35 Local Time In French Guiana

Arianespace is on track for a record launch performance in 2014 following tonight’s Vega mission from the Spaceport in French Guiana, which successfully orbited a pioneering Earth observation satellite for the Republic of Kazakhstan. Lifting off from the SLV launch site at 10:35:15 p.m. local time – which was the planned precise moment of launch – Vega was put through its paces to loft DZZ-HR, renamed “KazEOSat-1” after reaching Sun-synchronous orbit, during a flight lasting 55 minutes.

KazEOSat-1 is to provide the Republic of Kazakhstan with a complete range of civil applications – including monitoring of natural and agricultural resources, provision of mapping data, and support for rescue operations in the event of a natural disaster. In post-launch comments from the mission control center, Arianespace Chairman & CEO Stéphane Israël congratulated the Kazakh space agency KazCosmos on tonight’s success, and applauded the work of Airbus Defence and Space – Arianespace’s customer for this flight, and the prime contractor for KazEOSat-1.

“I am impressed by the way this program has been controlled from the very beginning and how Airbus delivered on its promises, whether technical or programmatic, especially regarding schedule, which is impressive,” Israël said.

François Auque, Executive Vice President – Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space, called the mission a “perfect launch,” and recognized Arianespace’s “outstanding job” in delivering the satellite payload. “As I am prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, I know all the challenges of being a service provider, and I know all the skills involved,” he stated. “I really want to thank the wonderful team of Arianespace in delivering this splendid launch.”

The mission – designated Flight VV03 – marked the third launch of a Vega, which joins Arianespace’s medium-lift Soyuz and heavyweight Ariane 5 to form the world’s most capable family of launchers, operating side-by-side at the Spaceport. Conceived for the orbiting of small- to medium-sized satellites, including institutional and scientific spacecraft, Vega was developed in the framework of a European Space Agency (ESA) program financed by Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.arianespace.com