Author Topic: Vega VV18 - Pléiades Neo 3 & rideshares - 29 April 2021 (01:50 UTC) (Read 30016 times)

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #40 on:** 01/18/2021 06:40 pm »

Cross-post:

Quote from: Closer to Space on 01/18/2021 06:19 pm

I got some information about the flights for this year:

VV18 - Officially late March (most likely mid-April)

Also, this thread is now merged with the former Pléiades Neo 1 & 2 thread.

PM3 · « **Reply #41 on:** 01/20/2021 04:35 pm »

Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 01/18/2021 06:40 pm

Cross-post:
Quote from: Closer to Space on 01/18/2021 06:19 pm
I got some information about the flights for this year:

VV18 - Officially late March (most likely mid-April)

Also, this thread merged with Pléiades Neo 1 & 2 thread.

April confirmed by DLR, though not explicitly mentioning any payload (and funny half-translation of "multiple satellites").

Vega VV18 April (tbc) Multiple Satelliten

https://www.dlr.de/rd/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-4926/8178_read-47362/

GWR64 · « **Reply #42 on:** 02/22/2021 06:01 pm »

https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace/status/1362333370320113664

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #43 on:** 02/24/2021 05:32 pm »

Is there a source for the launch time on April 17 UTC?

Quote from: Salo on 01/30/2021 08:53 am

Planned launches:
Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site - Time (UTC)

2021
~~Mid-~~ April 17 - Pleiades Neo 1, EIRSAT 1, ELO, LEMUR-2y (xTBD), Myriota 1, Myriota 2, Myriota 3, NORSAT 3, NanoAvionics sat + multiple sats - Vega (VV18) - Kourou ZLV - 00:50

Changes on February 22nd

GWR64 · « **Reply #44 on:** 02/24/2021 06:33 pm »

Yes, the link in the tweet. There's a countdown clock. I overlooked that at first.
https://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/newsroom/news/pleiades-neo-ready-for-launch/
Although I believe that @Salo has miscalculated by an hour.
I get 01:50 UTC. But please do the math again.

PM3 · « **Reply #45 on:** 03/07/2021 11:32 pm »

https://twitter.com/Avio_Group/status/1368532355086966786

Quote from: Avio

Vega is back on the launch pad. The Flight Readiness Review has authorized the start of the #VV18 launch campaign: target date 22 April
🚀🚀🚀

No timezone given. If that is Kourou date and the time of day is unchanged from the Arbus website countdown, it would be 23 April (01:50) UTC.

GWR64 · « **Reply #46 on:** 03/08/2021 06:58 pm »

the tweet is no longer there

PM3 · « **Reply #47 on:** 03/08/2021 08:57 pm »

And Airbus have tweaked their message of 15th February to show the 20th April as launch date instead of 16th. Old:

https://web.archive.org/web/20210304082405/https://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/newsroom/news/pleiades-neo-ready-for-launch/

New:

https://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/newsroom/news/pleiades-neo-ready-for-launch/

The countdown now points to 20th 1:50 UTC, while before it counted to 17th 1:50 UTC.

gongora · « **Reply #48 on:** 03/24/2021 12:50 pm »

Pléiades Neo satellites arrive in Kourou for launch

Toulouse, 24 March 2021 – The first two Airbus-built Pléiades Neo imaging satellites have arrived at Cayenne airport, French Guiana and are now en route to the European Space Centre in Kourou.

Scheduled to launch in April 2021 on a Vega launcher, Pléiades Neo 3, the first of the new generation of very high-resolution satellites will join the existing Airbus fleet of optical and radar satellites, with increased resolution, revisit and coverage. It will be closely followed by its twin, Pléiades Neo 4, also scheduled for launch on a Vega rocket a few weeks later.

Entirely funded, manufactured, owned and operated by Airbus, Pléiades Neo will provide commercial and institutional customers with high-level insights for the next decade. Each satellite will add half a million km² per day at 30cm native resolution. The images will be easily accessible on Airbus’ OneAtlas digital platform, allowing customers immediate access to both freshly acquired and archive data, as well as extensive analytics.

Comprising four identical satellites, the Pléiades Neo fleet will work hand in hand with the existing Pléiades satellites. The highly compact Pléiades Neo spacecraft have a light weight, next generation silicon carbide optical instrument. They also have inter-satellite links with SpaceDataHighway (EDRS) geostationary satellites to enable urgent acquisitions just 30 to 40 minutes following the tasking request to swiftly respond to the most critical situations.

“Pléiades Neo is a game changer for Airbus and its geo-intelligence customers. Thanks to our disruptive and bold investments we can offer a state of the art constellation delivering 30cm resolution imagery in near real-time, opening up a completely new range of applications to give our customers more detail, more quickly,” said Jean-Marc Nasr, head of Space Systems at Airbus.

bolun · « **Reply #49 on:** 03/24/2021 01:01 pm »

Quote from: gongora on 03/24/2021 12:50 pm

Pléiades Neo satellites arrive in Kourou for launch

Image credit: Airbus

Bean Kenobi · « **Reply #50 on:** 03/24/2021 01:41 pm »

Quote from: bolun on 03/24/2021 01:01 pm

Quote from: gongora on 03/24/2021 12:50 pm
Pléiades Neo satellites arrive in Kourou for launch

It says Pleiades Neo-3 will be on this launch, not Neo-1.

Rondaz · « **Reply #51 on:** 03/25/2021 02:32 pm »

Hello guys and welcome aboard! You are now starting the last part of the long journey that is going to take you all the way to space.
Thanks for your trust and enjoy the ride!

https://twitter.com/Arianespace/status/1375076889753178116

jacqmans · « **Reply #52 on:** 03/25/2021 02:46 pm »

March 25, 2021

Processing begins with the Pléiades Neo 3 satellite for Arianespace’s next Vega launch

Payload preparations have begun in French Guiana for Arianespace’s next mission – which is to utilize the light-lift Vega in deploying the first Pléiades Neo constellation satellite and other passengers in a piggyback configuration.

Produced by Airbus Defence and Space, Pléiades Neo 3 arrived yesterday at Félix Eboué Airport near Cayenne, then traveled by road to the Spaceport to begin its processing. Liftoff of this Vega mission – designated Flight VV18 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system – is planned in the coming weeks from the equatorial space base.

Pléiades Neo 3 arrived in French Guiana along with Pléiades Neo 4, the second satellite scheduled to join the Pléiades Neo constellation – which is funded, manufactured, owned, and operated by Airbus Defence and Space. Pléiades Neo 4 will be orbited on the following Arianespace Vega flight.

When fully deployed, Airbus’ Pléiades Neo constellation will comprise four identical satellites to provide commercial and institutional customers with high-resolution imaging. Phased at 90° and operated in the same orbit, these satellites are to be capable of visiting any point on the globe at least twice daily.

Continuing Arianespace’s small satellite launch services

The SSMS program, initiated by the European Space Agency (ESA) with the European Commission’s contribution, allows Arianespace to offer ride-share solutions tailored for the small satellite market. Arianespace performed the first SSMS launch using a Vega vehicle in September 2020 – successfully deploying 40-plus small CubeSats and seven microsatellites into Sun-synchronous orbit.

The Small Spacecraft Mission Service dispenser system is an ESA product developed by Italy’s Avio under the space agency’s leadership, and is produced by the Czech company SAB Aerospace s.r.o. (CZ).

Composed of modular components, the dispenser is assembled to serve as the interface with grouped payloads composed of microsatellites and CubeSats. Capable of accepting a full range of payload combinations, the SSMS configuration has been designed to be as responsive as possible in meeting the launch service market’s needs for institutional and commercial customers.

https://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/vv18-pleiades-neo3-arrival/

sts9 · « **Reply #53 on:** 03/28/2021 06:49 pm »

Arrival photos

https://www.facebook.com/pg/CSGCentreSpatialGuyanais/photos/?tab=album&album_id=4022714857766832&ref=page_internal

PM3 · « **Reply #54 on:** 04/01/2021 03:06 pm »

The Airbus clock now counts towards 27 April 01:50 UTC.

https://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/newsroom/news/pleiades-neo-ready-for-launch/

bolun · « **Reply #55 on:** 04/02/2021 06:52 am »

Quote

#InsideVega
All Vega propulsion and control stages are now integrated on the launch pad. Let the countdown begin! 🚀 #StayTuned #VV18
@arianespace @esa @CNES @AirbusSpace

https://twitter.com/Avio_Group/status/1376558704108134402

PM3 · « **Reply #56 on:** 04/06/2021 09:14 pm »

Clock countdown now explicitly confirmed:

Quote

06/04/2021

Pléiades Neo satellites are ready for launch at the European Space Center in Kourou.
The launch is now scheduled on 27 April on a Vega launcher!

https://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/newsroom/news/pleiades-neo-ready-for-launch/

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #57 on:** 04/07/2021 04:27 pm »

Belated update re: launch schedule; already superseded:

Quote from: Salo on 04/01/2021 08:28 pm

https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/ [March 31 update]
Quote
Late April • Vega • Pléiades Neo 3
Launch time: 0150 GMT (9:50 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana

PM3 · « **Reply #58 on:** 04/09/2021 09:01 pm »

Launch keeps slipping ... the clock now counts towards 28 April, 01:50 UTC (which is 27 April in Kourou time).

https://www.intelligence-airbusds.com/newsroom/news/pleiades-neo-ready-for-launch/

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #59 on:** 04/22/2021 12:24 pm »

https://twitter.com/thivallee/status/1385195346490494978

Quote

🎁🎁🎁 Upper stage fueled. Fairing closed. We are go for the launch final preps. #VV18