Vega passes latest test

The upper composite of ESA’s new small launcher has successfully passed its vibration tests at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC).

Vega’s components are built and tested at various locations across Europe. The first launch is planned for the end of 2007 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Vega, which is being built by European industry under the leadership of Italy’s ELV, is a small launch vehicle designed to carry payloads in the range 300kg to 2.5 tonnes into low Earth orbits. The typical reference for Vega’s launch capacity is to carry 1500kg to a 700km altitude polar orbit. Vega will be particularly suitable for the launch of scientific and Earth observation missions.

During the launch of a rocket, vibrations occur due to engine ignition, the thrust of the engines and the high-speed flow of air over the body of the vehicle as it accelerates through the Earth’s atmosphere.