European Vega LV powered by Ukrainian engine successfully puts Italian spy satellite, French-Israeli remote sensing satellite into orbit
KYIV. Aug 2 (Interfax) - A European Vega light launch vehicle powered by a Ukrainian engine successfully put the Italian OPTSAT-3000 intelligence satellite and French-Israeli Vens satellite of the European Copernicus global remote sensing network into Sun-synchronous orbits on Wednesday morning, the Ukrainian State Space Agency said in a report posted on its website.
The launch from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana was the tenth in the Vega program and the second in 2017, the agency said.
Both satellites were built by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) defense concern. The 368-kg OPTSAT-3000 satellite was made on the order of the Italian Defense Ministry, while the 264-kg Vens was built for the Israeli Space Agency (ISA) and the French space agency CNES.
The Vega LV is developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for delivery of satellites weighing up to 1,200 kilograms to a Sun-synchronous orbit of 1,200 kilometers or satellites weighing 1,500 kilograms to a polar orbit of 700 kilometers.
The cruise engine for the fourth stage of the launch vehicle, RD-868P, was developed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau and built by the Yuzhmash state plant, both based in Dnipro. The trial launch of the Vega LV was successfully performed in February 2012. The ESA began commercially operating the new launch vehicle in May 2013.
A Vega LV delivered the Sentinel-2B satellite of the European Copernicus global remote sensing network into a Sun-synchronous orbit in March 2017.
In July 2017, the Vega program's Ukrainian partners extended the 2012 contract with the European contractor, Italy's Avio SpA, for the delivery of serial engines for the Vega LV until 2020.
The Ukrainian government and the ESA signed an agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use of outer space in 2008. The ESA comprises 17 European nations.
