LIVE: Vega Flight VV07 - PeruSat-1 & four SkySat-Gen2 sats - September 16, 2016

[jacqmans]

Aug 30, 2016 

Vega’s multi-satellite payload integration begins for Arianespace Flight VV07

Peru’s first Earth observation satellite is integrated for its Arianespace Vega launch on September 15

PerúSAT-1 has been installed in the multi-payload dispenser system that will enable this spacecraft to be launched on Arianespace’s upcoming Vega light-lift mission from French Guiana, along with a cluster of satellites for Terra Bella.

The integration activity occurred in the Spaceport’s S3B preparation facility, where PerúSAT-1 was installed inside the VESPA dispenser – readying it for positioning as the lower payload on Vega Flight VV07, scheduled for liftoff on September 15.

VESPA is similar in function to the larger SYLDA dispenser on Ariane 5’s heavy-lift launch vehicle. These systems enable multiple payloads to be assembled on a single launcher and orbited in sequence during a mission.

PerúSAT-1’s deployment in Vega’s flight sequence

For Flight VV07, the Terra Bella satellites will be released in the second phase of the mission’s deployment sequence.

PerúSAT-1 was built by Airbus Defence and Space for Peru’s CONIDA national space agency and is outfitted with a silicon carbide optical instrument system to image Earth at 70 cm. resolution. It will serve as the country’s first Earth observation satellite, with a liftoff mass of approximately 450 kg.

http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/vegas-multi-satellite-payload-integration-begins-for-arianespace-flight-vv07/

[Rik ISS-fan]

That's a bit odd. The main payload PeruSat-1 in the lower position.
If something goes wrong with the SkySat deplotment or VESPA (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter) deployment, they have a launch failure. The SkySat's are launching in the more expansive position as secondary payloads.
This launch really shows the 2,37m payload fairing, and the 1,9m VESPA are to small, so It's a good move to increase the diameter on the payload fairing for Vega C.
Have a nice 7th flight Vega!

[Hobbes-22]

Has there ever been a problem with VESPA, the very similar SYLDA or its predecessors?

[Skyrocket]

Has there ever been a problem with VESPA, the very similar SYLDA or its predecessors?

The only problem with a dual launch structure was with the DPAF of a Pegasus-XL in  (SAC B / HETE) in 1996. Arianespace had never problems with their dual-launch structures.

[jacqmans]

Sep 1, 2016 

Vega’s payload is “buttoned up” for launch by Arianespace


The satellite passengers’ arrangement places PerúSAT-1 – a very high resolution optical observation spacecraft developed for Peru’s CONIDA national space agency – in a dispenser system called VESPA (Vega Secondary Payload Adaptor). Terra Bella’s spacecraft are in the upper position atop VESPA.

The seventh mission for Arianespace’s light-lift Vega

With the satellites now encapsulated in the payload fairing, this upper component of Vega – referred to as the “composite” – is ready for installation atop the launcher early next week.

During the September 15 mission, separation of the payload fairing will occur approximately four minutes into the flight, once Vega has ascended through the atmosphere’s denser layers.

Flight VV07 is scheduled for a nighttime liftoff from the Spaceport on the seventh launch overall for this lightweight vehicle. Vega is part of Arianespace’s launcher family that also includes the medium-lift Soyuz and heavyweight Ariane 5. The four-stage Vega is delivered to Arianespace by Italy’s ELV, which is production prime contractor.

Another busy year of launches for Arianespace

To date, Arianespace has conducted six of 11 missions targeted for 2016, with Flight VV07 to mark the first liftoff with its Vega launcher this year.

The company’s launches accomplished so far in 2016 were:
•Flight VA232, conducted on August 24 with an Ariane 5 to orbit the Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 telecommunications satellites for U.S.-based Intelsat;
•Flight VA230, on June 18, using an Ariane 5 to loft EchoStar XVIII for the U.S. EchoStar provider of satellite/video delivery solutions, and the BRIsat financial communications relay platform for Indonesia;
•Flight VS15, on May 24, orbiting two Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites for Europe’s Galileo space-based navigation system with Soyuz;
•Flight VS14, lifting off on April 25, utilized Soyuz to deploy the European Sentinel-1B radar-equipped Earth observation platform, along with the French Microscope scientific payload and Europe’s Fly Your Satellite! educational cubesats;
•Flight VA229, performed with Ariane 5 on March 9 to orbit the EUTELSAT 65 West A telecommunications relay satellite for Europe’s Eutelsat satellite operator; and
•Flight VA228, on January 27, orbiting the Intelsat 29e telecom relay platform aboard an Ariane 5.

[bolun]

Sep 6, 2016

PerúSAT-1 and Terra Bella satellites are installed for Arianespace’s upcoming Vega launch

Arianespace’s seventh light-lift Vega launcher to be operated from the Spaceport in French Guiana is now fully assembled, having been “topped off” with its multi-satellite Earth observation payload.

Designated Flight VV07 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system, the September 15 mission will involve a trajectory to elliptical low-Earth orbit, where Vega will deploy a cluster of satellites for U.S.-based Terra Bella and the Peruvian PerúSAT-1 spacecraft.

This is to mark Arianespace’s seventh launch of 2016, building on a busy schedule that already has seen the company’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 utilized four times, along with two missions performed by medium-lift Soyuz launchers.

Integration of Vega’s “upper composite” in the gantry

Flight VV07’s final payload integration activity began with the “upper composite’s” transfer from the Spaceport’s S3B payload processing facility to the SLV launch pad. The upper composite is composed of the Terra Bella satellites along with PerúSAT-1 in a dispenser system for the multi-passenger arrangement, all of which are encapsulated in Vega’s protective payload fairing.

Once positioned on the launch pad, the upper composite was then hoisted up Vega’s mobile gantry, where it was installed atop the four-stage launcher.

Vega entered service in 2012, and the vehicle is provided to Arianespace by Italy’s ELV S.P.A., which is the launcher industrial prime contractor.

http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/vega-vv07-final-payload-integration/

[bolun]

http://www.csgpreparationlancement.com/vega/vol-vega-07-pose-de-la-coiffe-sur-le-lanceur/

Payload integration (more pics)

[bolun]

VV07 launch kit: http://www.arianespace.com/press-kits/

[bolun]

Sep 8, 2016

Arianespace to launch multi-payload Vega mission for Earth observation

For its seventh launch of the year, and seventh Vega mission since the light launcher began operations at the Guiana Space Center - French Guiana, in 2012, Arianespace will orbit the PerúSAT-1 satellite as part of a turnkey contract with Airbus Defence and Space for the Peruvian space agency CONIDA, and the SkySats-4 to 7 satellites for the American operator Terra Bella, a Google company.

With this multi-payload Vega mission, Arianespace clearly confirms that its light launcher offers the adaptability needed to meet emerging requirements in the broad-based Earth observation market.

The launch will be from the Vega Launch Complex (SLV) in Kourou, French Guiana.

The Launch Readiness Review (LRR) will take place on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 in Kourou, to authorize the start of operations for the final countdown.

PerúSAT-1 is Peru’s first Earth observation satellite. Ordered within the scope of an agreement between the Peruvian and French governments, this launch is being carried out under a turnkey contract with Airbus Defence and Space for the Peruvian space agency CONIDA.

Built by Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France, using an AstroBus-S platform and its NAOMI instrument, the satellite will be injected into Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 675 km. PerúSAT-1 will operate at an altitude of 695 km to take pictures of the entire globe.

SkySat-4, 5, 6 and-7 are the first four of these micro-satellites to be launched by Arianespace for Terra Bella, a new customer and a commercial operator of Earth observation satellites.

Terra Bella is a Google company using data from space to solve problems on Earth. SkySat-4,5, 6, and 7 will augment Terra Bella’s existing 3 on-orbit satellites—growing the constellation and enabling Terra Bella to help enterprise customers solve the challenges affecting their business and generate insights into important global economic, environmental, and humanitarian challenges.

Terra Bella’s four satellites (SkySats-4 to 7) will be injected into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 km. SSL (Space Systems/Loral) is Terra Bella’s contract manufacturer.

For further information, download the launch kit.

To watch a live, high-speed online transmission of the launch (including commentary from the launch site in French and English), go to arianespace.com on September 15, 2016, starting 15 minutes before liftoff.

You can also follow the launch live on your iPhone or iPad (the Arianespace HD app is free).

About Arianespace

To use space for a better life on earth, Arianespace guarantees access to space transportation services and solutions for any type of satellite, commercial as well as institutional, into any orbit.

Since 1980, Arianespace has performed missions placing more than 500 satellites into orbit with its three launchers: Ariane, Soyuz and Vega. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, France near Paris, and has a facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore.

http://www.arianespace.com/press-release/arianespace-to-launch-multi-payload-vega-mission-for-earth-observation/

[bolun]

Sep 14, 2016

Vega is cleared for its September 15 launch with a multi-satellite payload

The seventh Vega mission from French Guiana has been authorized for liftoff tomorrow following completion of its launch readiness review, which was conducted today at the Spaceport.

This assessment – held prior to each flight of an Arianespace launcher family member – confirmed that the lightweight vehicle and its multi-passenger payload are flight-ready, along with the Spaceport’s infrastructure and the network of downrange tracking stations.

Tomorrow’s mission is designated VV07 in Arianespace’s numbering system, and it will be performed from the Spaceport’s SLV launch site – where the Vega was assembled and now stands in a flight-ready configuration, protected by a mobile gantry that will be withdrawn prior to liftoff.

Flight VV07 will mark Arianespace’s seventh of 11 missions targeted in 2016, and is the company’s first this year using a Vega launcher – which is one of three launch vehicles operated by Arianespace at the Spaceport, along with the medium-lift Soyuz and heavyweight Ariane 5. Vega’s production prime contractor is ELV, a company created by Avio and the Italian Space Agency.

A Vega launch for the U.S. and Peru

With today’s readiness review completed, all is set for the September 15 nighttime launch beginning precisely at 10:43:35 p.m. local time at the Spaceport in French Guiana. The flight will last approximately one hour and 42 minutes from liftoff to separation of the final spacecraft in its payload arrangement, which integrates a cluster of four satellites for U.S.-based Terra Bella, along with Peru’s PerúSAT-1.

The payload arrangement places PerúSAT-1 – a very high resolution optical observation spacecraft developed for Peru’s CONIDA national space agency, with an estimated liftoff mass of 430 kg. – in a dispenser system called VESPA (Vega Secondary Payload Adaptor). PerúSAT-1 is the country’s first Earth observation satellite, and its launch is being carried out under a turnkey agreement between Airbus Defence and Space and CONIDA.

Terra Bella’s four spacecraft – SkySat-4, -5, -6 and -7 – are in the upper position atop VESPA, and will be released one-by-one during the flight sequence’s 40-minute mark, to be followed by PerúSAT-1’s separation approximately one hour and two minutes later.

The SkySat satellites each weigh approximately 110 kg. for liftoff, and after their separation, they will be used to provide very-high-resolution maps of Earth in its entirety – augmenting the existing three in-orbit satellites for new Arianespace customer Terra Bella, which is a Google company.

http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/vv07-launch-readiness-review/

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Moved for live coverage!

[Chris Bergin]

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/09/vega-launch-peru-sat-1-skysat-4-5-6-7-payload/

Article by Chris Gebhardt

[Sam Ho]

That's a bit odd. The main payload PeruSat-1 in the lower position.
If something goes wrong with the SkySat deplotment or VESPA (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter) deployment, they have a launch failure. The SkySat's are launching in the more expansive position as secondary payloads.
This launch really shows the 2,37m payload fairing, and the 1,9m VESPA are to small, so It's a good move to increase the diameter on the payload fairing for Vega C.
Have a nice 7th flight Vega!

If you look at the photos in the post below, you can see that the 4 SkySats together do not fit under the VESPA.  As you said, the VESPA is rather small.

Some more pics of the launch campaign have been posted at CSG facebook.

[Skyrocket]

That's a bit odd. The main payload PeruSat-1 in the lower position.
If something goes wrong with the SkySat deplotment or VESPA (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter) deployment, they have a launch failure. The SkySat's are launching in the more expansive position as secondary payloads.
This launch really shows the 2,37m payload fairing, and the 1,9m VESPA are to small, so It's a good move to increase the diameter on the payload fairing for Vega C.
Have a nice 7th flight Vega!

If you look at the photos in the post below, you can see that the 4 SkySats together do not fit under the VESPA.  As you said, the VESPA is rather small.

Some more pics of the launch campaign have been posted at CSG facebook.

And there is no reason to consider the SkySats a secondary payload - together they weight approximately the same as PeruSat. So this is a shared launch for two customers.

[vapour_nudge]

You could argue I need to change my WorldView, but after having my fill of Chinese last night, I don't think I'm ready to make the Long March to becoming a Vegan. I'm sure I'd get lost along the way and need an Atlas

[Steven Pietrobon]

26 minutes to start of broadcast.

[ZachS09]

Under 23 minutes until the Arianespace webcast.

[ZachS09]

About a half-hour away from the Synchronized Sequence, which will commence at T-4 minutes.

[ZachS09]

16 minutes away from the webcast.

[ZachS09]

Cool music being played as part of the "overture".