Colleferro (Rome) 29 April 2020 – Avio informs that CNES (the French Space Agency) and Arianespace have communicated today the gradual re-opening of the Guiana Space Center, starting from the 11 of May. The space center in Kourou had been closed at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak on the 16 of March 2020. At that point the operations for the 16th launch of Vega, scheduled by the end of the same month, had been freezed while the launcher and the satellites on board had been secured.

JCSAT-17 and GEO-KOMPSAT-2B satellites correctly orbited

The upcoming Vega VV16 flight will be launched - together with the new SSMS payload dispenser - by the end of March and the integration campaign has already started. 

The units assembling the launcher - made in Avio - landed in Kourou, French Guyana.

Eutelsat Konnect and GSAT-30 satellites correctly orbited

The first 2020 flight (107th mission overall) of the Ariane 5 rocket successfully took place during the night of the 16th of January from the Guyana Space Center (CSG) spaceport. The European launcher correctly orbited the Eutelsat Konnect and GSAT-30 satellites, which will provide Internet access and TV broadcast services for Eutelsat and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) respectively.

Giulio Ranzo CEO of Avio, Ettore Scardecchia Chief Technical Officer and Andrea Preve Vega Program Manager explain how we are going towards Vega Flight on 2020

TIBA-1 E INMARSAT GX5 satellites orbited.

The fourth 2019 flight of the Ariane 5 launcher took place successfully during the night from the Guyana Space Center (CSG) spaceport. The European launcher correctly placed telecommunication satellites TIBA-1 and INMARSAT GX5 into geostationary orbit.

Ariane 5 leverages the thrust of the two strap-on solid-propelled boosters and of the liquid-oxygen turbopump produced in Italy by Avio, leader of space propulsion technologies.

Avio S.p.A. announces that the Independent Inquiry Commission established on the 11th of July 2019 with the target of identifying the likely causes of the Vega launcher flight VV15 failure and to indicate an operating plan to resume flight activities, has published the results of its investigations.
The ESA and Arianespace joint press release can be downloaded at the following link https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Vega_flight_…

Intelsat 39 and EDRS-C satellites orbited.

The third 2019 flight (105th mission overall) of the Ariane 5 launcher took place successfully during the night of the 6th of August from the Guyana Space Center (CSG) spaceport. The European launcher correctly orbited the Intelsat 39 and EDRS-C satellites, that will provide TV broadcast and in-orbit telecommunication services for LEO satellites respectively.

Approximately two minutes after the Vega launcher’s liftoff, shortly after ignition of the second stage (Zefiro 23), a launcher anomaly occurred – leading to the premature end of the mission.

Data analyses are in progress to clarify the reasons for this failure.  An independent inquiry commission will be set up in the coming hours.

Colleferro, 22 Marzo 2019 – Italy is behind tonight’s 14th successful VEGA space launcher mission, built by Avio. At about 3AM tonight, the rocket produced in Colleferro, near Rome, took off from the space base in French Guiana, bringing into orbit the PRISMA satellite, owned by the Italian Space Agency and built by a group of companies headed by OHB Italia, with Telespazio and Leonardo.