N° 46–2023: Vega-C Zefiro40 Test: Independent Enquiry Commission announces conclusions2 October 2023Following the failure of the Vega-C launch (VV22) in December 2022, an Independent Enquiry Commission drew several conclusions and made recommendations to ensure a reliable return to flight and a robust exploitation. One of the recommendations was to implement a (delta-)qualification of the nozzle with a new Carbon-Carbon throat insert material different from that previously used on the Zefiro40, the solid rocket booster of the Vega-C second stage. On 28 June 2023, a static firing test of the modified Zefiro40 engine took place at the test bench in Salto di Quirra in Italy. During the test the engine nozzle suffered significant damages.ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher has set up an Independent Enquiry Commission chaired by the ESA Inspector General, Giovanni Colangelo, and composed of experts from CNES, ASI, ESA, Arianespace and academia to understand the cause of the test anomaly and propose recommendations.The Independent Enquiry Commission concluded that in the current design of the nozzle, the combination of the geometry of the Carbon-Carbon throat insert and the different thermo-mechanical properties of the new material caused progressive damage of other adjacent nozzle parts and a progressive degradation eventually leading to the nozzle’s failure. This phenomenon is not linked to those observed on VV22 with the previous Carbon-Carbon material.The Independent Enquiry Commission has formulated a series of recommendations including the need to improve the nozzle design of the Zefiro40 motor, calibrate numerical models to predict the behaviour and conduct two more firing tests to verify performance with the aim to ensure a reliable return to flight and a robust commercial exploitation of Vega-C. A task force steered by ESA and Avio has been set up and will immediately start to implement the recommendations proposed by the IEC. Vega-C, undergoing design changes of the Zefiro40 nozzle and technical reviews as well as the two firing tests, is expected to return to flight in the fourth quarter of 2024. In the meantime, another Vega flight will take place in the second quarter of 2024. A media briefing will be held by ESA, Avio and Arianespace on 2 October at 12:30 CEST to detail findings and answer questions. ESA considers the return to flight of Vega-C a strategic priority to secure Europe’s independent access to space and will support the necessary efforts drawing from already available resources. Avio in its role as Design Authority is committed to fully implement the recommendations of the Independent Enquiry Commission and is responsible for the return to flight of Vega-C. ESA, as launch system qualification authority, Avio, as design authority and prime contractor of the Vega launcher and Arianespace, as launch service provider, will continue their joint efforts to achieve the common objective of a robust exploitation of the Vega launch system, for the benefit of their institutional and commercial customers.
https://twitter.com/ESpaceflight/status/1745450243158876569QuoteESA director of space transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen has announced that Vega C will return to flight on 15 November 2024. The agency is, however, considering Falcon 9 as a backup for the launch of Sentinel 1C.
ESA director of space transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen has announced that Vega C will return to flight on 15 November 2024. The agency is, however, considering Falcon 9 as a backup for the launch of Sentinel 1C.
The first redesigned Vega-C Z40 nozzle has been completed with the new carbon carbon material from ArianeGroup. The nozzle will be used for the first of two static fire tests, which is currently expected to occur between the end of May and early June. Credit: Avio/Giulio Ranzo
Sep 3, 2024Vega joined the family of launch vehicles at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in 2012. At 30-m tall the rocket weighs 137 tonnes on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over. By rocket standards Vega is lightweight and powerful, the first three stages burn through their fuel and bringing Vega and its satellites to space in just six minutes.Specialising in launches of small satellites to orbits flying the Earth’s poles, Vega has an impressive roster of missions that it has sent to space. Flagship ESA missions that flew Vega include technology demonstrator and Earth vegetation watcher Proba-V and wind-monitoring satellite Aeolus. Vega’s heaviest payload launched was the 1906-kg LISA Pathfinder, a forerunner to LISA that will measure gravitational waves in space..In 2015 Vega launched three ESA missions in one year, including reentry demonstrator IXV that showed Europe has the technology to launch a vehicle to space and return it safely to Earth. In less than two hours Vega accelerated IXV to speeds of 27 000 km/h at a height of 412 km before the reentry vehicle splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. This demonstration mission was a precursor to the reuseable Space Rider spacecraft that will offer regular access to space for research and in orbit validation and demonstration missions and is paired with the Vega family of launchers.With its Vespa secondary payload adapter, first launched in 2013 on Vega’s second flight, Vega offered different options for payload ride-sharing where multiple satellites are launched on one rocket. In 2020 a variant of Vespa called the Small Spacecraft Mission Service transported over 50 satellites at once to orbit.Sentinel-2C is the last payload that the Vega rocket launches into space – after 12 years of service. Fittingly the Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B satellites were launched on Vega marking a logical conclusion to Vega’s stellar roster of satellites launched.Credits: ESA - European Space Agency
https://twitter.com/AndrewParsonson/status/1834131463287013632
Quote from: Mamut on 09/12/2024 12:51 pmhttps://twitter.com/AndrewParsonson/status/1834131463287013632From the report" In Flight Demonstrator (IFD), for the development and testing of a LOX/CH4 propulsion demonstrator for asmall single-stage-to-orbit launcher and a two-stage-to-orbit launcher, based on use of the M10 LOX/LCH4thruster;"From the Article: "Avio will also be working on its In Flight Demonstrator (IFD) vehicles which will be used to study reusable rocket technology that can be applied to the company’s Vega E successor. The programme, which was initially referred to as the Space Transportation System (STS), received €181.6 million in PNRR funding in 2023. However, that award was initially allocated for one two-stage demonstrator with the programme now shifting to include a second vehicle. The first IFD vehicle will be a small single-stage-to-orbit demonstrator. Avio will then move onto the two-stage-to-orbit rocket demonstrator. Both rockets will utilize the company’s M10 rocket engine. The first IFD flight is expected to be conducted in 2026."I'm confused what a demonstrator of a SSTO will add... A SSTO will also not be very useful with the reuse study goal, since it needs very efficient mass fraction that are contradictory with recovery equipment.
Head of the Italian space agency ASI reports a successful second test-firing of the redesigned Zefiro 40 motor for the Vega C, which paves the way for the rocket's return to flight late this year.
Great success for the test of the Zefiro 40 engine of #VegaC , which paves the way for the launch in December. The #Italia , with the @esa confirms its leading role in the launch sector. Soon in orbit Sentinel 1-C of the @CopernicusEU@Avio_Group @ASI_spazio @mimit_gov @GiulioRanzo program
Some footage from today's Vega C Zefiro 40 stage test. Credit: Avio
LAST ROCKET MOTOR FIRING CLEARS PATH FOR VEGA-C LAUNCH03.10.24Colleferro (Rome), 3 October 2024 – A redesigned Zefiro-40 solid rocket motor, the second stage of the Vega-C rocket, was successfully fired up today for the second time by prime contractor Avio at its Salto di Quirra test facility in Sardinia, Italy. This second firing follows from a first firing test of the motor in May 2024 and concludes the qualification tests for the improved engine nozzle design of the Zefiro-40.Engineers are analysing the motor’s performance, with the initial post-test review indicating that the new nozzle assembly and the motor performed as expected. Whereas the first test in May was performed under high operating pressure and with a short burning time, today’s test was conducted at a low operating pressure and burnt for longer, as expected and according to the test predictions. The two firings are standard procedure when preparing solid-fuel rocket motors for operations, allowing Vega-C to be launched by the end of 2024.Zefiro-40 is a 7.6 m tall rocket motor, loaded with over 36 tonnes of solid propellant, and just one of three solid-propulsion stages that are used by Vega-C. For this test the motor was installed on its horizontal test bench. Zefiro-40 is developed and manufactured by Avio in their Colleferro factory near Rome, Italy.Farewell Vega, welcome Vega-CVega-C is the larger evolution of the versatile Vega family of rockets specialising in taking Earth observation satellites to orbit. The original Vega was launched in 2012 and flew 22 times over 12 years, its last flight was on 4 September launching the third Sentinel 2 satellite into orbit perfectly.Vega-C is set to take over from Vega’s legacy, ensuring that Europe has a versatile, independent access to space, complementing the Ariane family of rockets to launch any satellite to any orbit.Vega-C delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness. Operating from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, from the same launch pad as Vega, the rocket extends Europe’s autonomy in space by supporting new mission possibilities and includes two new solid propulsion stages, an improved upper stage and new fairing, and new ground infrastructure.ESA is responsible for the Vega-C launch system qualification and also purchases launch services for European institutional missions. The Vega-C development programme was carried out with participation of thirteen ESA Member States, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland. The Agency is the contracting authority for the development of Vega-C, supports both the development and exploitation, while also providing technical supervision based on its 30 years of experience.Avio is the prime contractor and design authority of the Vega-C launchers. Arianespace is the launch service provider for the next launch of Vega C planned before the end of the year.
