An artist's concept of the Vega rocket. Credit: ESA-J. Huart

Europe's Vega light booster is one step closer to the launch pad this week as final stages of development were approved in a contract signing between ESA and the ELV company in Italy.

The contract, worth more than $200 million, covers the completion of the Vega development, leading up to manufacturing and testing before the first launch in 2006.

A separate, almost $50 million contract was signed between the French space agency CNES and FiatAvio for the P80 solid-fueled motor to be used both as the first stage for the Vega rocket and as an upgrade for the Ariane 5's solid rocket boosters.

Vega's prime contractor -- the ELV consortium -- is owned jointly between FiatAvio, a 70 percent shareholder, and the Italian space agency ASI, owning a 30 percent share.

Both Italian-based shareholders bear the majority of the development responsibilities, with 65 percent of the project controlled by Italian organizations. France, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden are other ESA members contributing to the program.

Upcoming milestones include a safety review scheduled for May and a formal System Design Review, ESA's Vega Launcher Manager Stefano Bianchi told Spaceflight Now. Aerodynamic testing is set to get underway this summer, he said.

When it debuts in 2006, the Vega will be able to haul up to about 3,300 pounds to a circular polar orbit 435 miles high. The rocket will also have the capability of carrying a 1,760-pound payload to a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 750 miles.

The starting point for all Vega launches will be the ELA-1 launch pad, which has been in mothballs since it last saw an Ariane 3 launch in 1989.

The concrete pad base and the flame trench will remain untouched, but a new mobile service tower will be required to be built to service the Vega prior to launch, Bianchi said. Formal requests for price quotations for launch zone construction will be issued later this year.

After its maiden flight, the Vega system is expected to fly an average of 3 to 4 missions per year. Arianespace will take over the marketing arm of the program when normal operations begin.

Coupling the Vega with the Ariane 5 and potential Soyuz presence at the Guiana Space Center, Arianespace will control competitors in heavy, medium, and light spacecraft markets with the Ariane 5, Soyuz, and Vega respectively.

Unlike most launch sites, Kourou provides a direct capability for launches into geostationary transfer orbit, the International Space Station orbit, and into high-inclination polar and Sun-synchronous orbits.

Kicked off in 1998 and fully funded since 2000, the Vega program aims to reduce operational and launch costs below competitors like the U.S. Taurus by up to 15 percent. Officials hope that reduction will attract both government and commercial customers from around Europe and even around the world.

A prime reason for this targeted cost reduction is the use of existing personnel and facilities. "The maximum synergy with the Ariane operations staff will be one of the criteria for the organization set up", said Bianchi.

The Vega's captive small spacecraft market has been slumping recently along with the rest of the space market, with just a handful of commercial launches by competitors like the Taurus, Rockot, Kosmos over the past few years. Officials expect European Space Agency missions and other flight opportunities will develop as the program matures.

The new rocket consists of three solid-fueled stages and an upper stage that serves as a final orbit-maneuvering engine and as an attitude control module prior to payload deployment. That stage is fueled by liquid propellants.