30 November 2017ESA signed two contracts today with Italy’s ELV and Thales Alenia Space to extend Europe’s Vega space system capabilities and competitiveness. ELV will develop and extensively test a new European cryogenic upper stage engine development model for Vega evolutions beyond 2025, based on low-cost liquid oxygen–methane propulsion.The engine replaces the current Zefiro-9 solid-propellant motor and the AVUM upper stage engine for Vega-E, matching Vega-C performance at significantly reduced costs and improved flexibility.In addition, complementing the Small Spacecraft Mission Services (SSMS) programme already under development, ELV will investigate how existing motors such as the P120, P80, Z40, Z23, Z9, could be used to create a family of Vega-E configurations able to place payloads of 200–2500 kg into orbit.This will incorporate promising technologies in the areas of 3D layer-by-layer additive manufacturing, hydrogen peroxide as low-toxicity propulsion, and advanced avionics, offering competitive production and operational costs. The contract concerning the Vega evolution activities worth €53 million was signed by ESA Director of Space Transportation Daniel Neuenschwander and ELV Managing Director Andrea Preve at ESA headquarters in Paris. In parallel, Thales Alenia Space and ELV will complete the detailed mission and system design up to the Critical Design Review for Space Rider.The Space Rider space transportation system will be integrated with Vega-C, combining an Orbital Service Module derived from a Vega-C AVUM and a reentry module derived from the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) demonstrator flown in 2015 on Vega.It will provide Europe with an affordable reusable platform for routine access and return from space, with payloads capacity up to 800 kg to an array of orbit altitudes and inclinations for multiple applications such as advanced microgravity, in-orbit demonstration and validation for Earth observation, science, telecommunication and robotic exploration. The Space Rider design builds on technological and industrial knowhow from Vega, Vega-C and the IXV development and demonstrations. Space Rider missionFollowing on from the successful Vega–IXV mission, Space Rider will be launched from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, reach and stay in orbit as long as required to perform the payloads operations, deorbit and reenter performing a ground landing to return payloads to end users, and be refurbished and reused for the next mission.The contract for Space Rider activities worth €36.7 million was signed by ESA Director of Space Transportation Daniel Neuenschwander, Thales Alenia Space Vice President Domain Exploration and Science Walter Cugno, and ELV Managing Director Andrea Preve at ESA headquarters in Paris. The Vega and Space Rider development programmes provide the framework to consolidate a Vega space system able to capture the broadest market needs with Vega-C and its spin-offs products: SSMS, Space Rider, and the VEnUS Vega electric upper stage, covering access to low Earth orbit (LEO) for payloads up to 2300 kg, orbital transfer from LEO, and return from LEO, for a multitude of space applications in a competitive manner.
ELV(European Launch Vehicle) is a company established by Avio and ASI (Italian Space Agency) in December 2000.It develops, manufactures and delivers the European launcher called Vega and its evolutions with all associated technologies. The company is responsible for every aspect of system development, from the drafting of the specifications, through production, to its integration in the launch pad.ELV’s primary tasks include managing and planning launcher design, development, qualification and production processes, by coordinating the activities of the subcontracts participating in the programme.
According to them, they do more than that:
Today, Avio signed two contracts with ESA, the European Space Agency, in Paris to develop the Vega E launcher and the Space Rider re-entry vehicle, in line with market expectations. The contracts are worth a total of €89.7 million.The first contract is to develop the Vega E launcher (Vega Evolution), a European project where Avio is the leader of around ten companies. The contract for this activity is worth €53 million.Vega E is the medium-term evolution of the Vega launcher and, as such, features a high content of technological innovation and more compact three-stage architecture. The upper stage has a revolutionary liquid oxygen/methane engine, technology that gives it a very low impact on the environment and the capacity for multiple re-ignition, a feature giving the launcher more flexibility during orbital manoeuvres.
Vega's second evolution, named Vega E and also funded via the 2016 Ministerial Conference, willlaunch from 2024 a payload approx. twice the size of those currently launchable and will allow Avioto further its expertise in liquid propulsion.
LA SECONDA GENERAZIONE DI COSMO-SKYMEDTra la fine di quest’anno e l’inizio del prossimo, verrà inoltre lanciato il primo satellite della second generation di Cosmo-SkyMed. Nel 2020 partirà il secondo a bordo del primo Vega C, la nuova versione del piccolo lanciatore made in Italyrealizzato da Avio, l’azienda di Colleferro guidata da Giulio Ranzo. “Ora – ha aggiunto Battiston – siamo in fase di discussione per preparare le condizione per fare il terzo e il quarto”. In prospettiva, “nel 2025 dovremmo avere quattro satelliti operativi della seconda generazione, più il sistema Siasge in fase di passaggio tra i primi due i secondi”. Tutto questo, ha notato Battiston, permette di poterci presentare in Europa forti di “un servizio consolidato e di prospettiva”.
THE SECOND GENERATION OF COSMO-SKYMEDBetween the end of this year and the beginning of the next, the first satellite of the second generation of Cosmo-SkyMed will be launched. In 2020 the second will be on board the first Vega C, the new version of the small made in Italy launcher made by Avio, the Colleferro company led by Giulio Ranzo. "Now - added Battiston - we are under discussion to prepare the conditions for making the third and fourth". In perspective, "in 2025 we should have four second-generation operational satellites, plus the Siasge system in transition between the first two seconds". All this, Battiston noted, allows us to be able to present ourselves in Europe with "a consolidated service and perspective".
WIRED UK: This is the fastest rocket on Earth https://www.wired.co.uk/article/avio-vega-c-rocket-esa-ariane-6
I'm quite sure FH on trajectory to pluto will have higher speed than any Vega variant can reach.But they probably mean fastest-accelerating. Vega-C should have something like 2.4 G of initial acceleration?(4.5 MN / 191 tonnes )