The launch of European rocket Vega, postponed once by the coronavirus and then twice due to bad weather, It is scheduled for this Saturday from French Guiana, Arianespace announced in a statement.
“The meteorological conditions observed at the Guayanés Space Center allow to resume the chronology operations of launch VV16 (Vega Flight n ° 16),” the company reported.
The operation is scheduled this Saturday at 10:51 p.m. in Kourou (9:00 p.m. from Chile), “Subject to confirmation of favorable weather conditions,” added Arianespace.
This will be the first flight for the Vega rocket since the failure registered in the summer of 2019, which ended in self-destruction as a precautionary measure.
Initially, the launch was scheduled for March 18, but was postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. And last week, the device was postponed twice due to bad weather.
Mission “VV16” is the first shared release (or “rideshare”), It must put 53 satellites of 21 clients, from 13 different countries, into low orbit.
This is a crucial challenge for Space Europe, which will enter a rapidly expanding market where competition – particularly from the US SpaceX – is fierce.
This “cluster” is made up of seven small satellites (weighing between 15 and 150 kg), as well as 46 nanosatellites, between 300 grams and 11 kilos.
Its applications range from communication to Earth observation, through scientific research.
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