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All-Italian launch from French Guiana lofts innovative environmental satellite
A Vega rocket fired into orbit Thursday night from French Guiana with Italy's PRISMA hyperspectral Earth-imaging satellite, commencing a busy period for the Vega launcher program as engineers prepare for the debut of the more powerful Vega-C booster in early 2020 and study a lighter variant to better compete in the growing smallsat launch market.
Vega launch timeline with PRISMA
The Italian PRISMA Earth observation satellite is set to ride a Vega launcher into a 382-mile-high (615-kilometer) orbit Thursday night from French Guiana on a mission that will take less than one hour from liftoff until spacecraft separation.
Q&A with Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio (members only)
Giulio Ranzo is the chief executive of Avio, the Italian company responsible for building the Vega rocket. Ranzo recently spoke with Spaceflight Now about the Vega rocket's increasing launch rate, the debut of the new Vega C booster in 2020, and future plans to evolve the Vega design to compete with commercial microsatellite launchers.
VideoLive coverage: Vega rocket launches with Italian hyperspectral imaging satellite
The first of up to four Vega rocket launches planned this year lifted off Thursday night from French Guiana carrying the Italian PRISMA hyperspectral Earth-imaging satellite. The solid-fueled launcher blasted off from the Guiana Space Center at 0150:35 GMT (9:50:35 p.m. EDT).
OneWeb announced as customer for inaugural Ariane 6 launch
Arianespace has announced OneWeb, the broadband Internet provider seeking to deploy more than 600 satellites into low Earth orbit, as the launch customer for the inaugural flight of the new Ariane 6 rocket in 2020.
VideoVideo: First OneWeb satellites deployed in orbit
A camera mounted on-board the upper stage of a Soyuz rocket launched Wednesday from South America captured dazzling views of the first six OneWeb broadband satellites separating from their carrier module more than 600 miles (about 1,000 kilometers) above Earth.
Photos: Soyuz lifts off on first OneWeb mission
A Soyuz booster vaulted into a sunset sky over French Guiana on Wednesday evening, arcing north from the jungle spaceport in South America with six satellites to inaugurate OneWeb's global broadband network.
First six OneWeb satellites launched from French Guiana
Carrying the ambition of an entrepreneur with a passion for connecting the world, a half-dozen satellites lifted off Wednesday aboard a Soyuz rocket from the edge of the Amazon jungle in South America to kick off a series of at least 21 planned launches to deploy OneWeb's global Internet network.
VideoLive coverage: First OneWeb broadband satellites launch aboard Soyuz rocket
The first six broadband satellites for OneWeb, which envisions a constellation of hundreds of orbiting relay stations beaming Internet signals down to Earth, lifted off Wednesday aboard a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. Launch occurred at 2137 GMT (4:37 p.m. EST).
Q&A with Greg Wyler, founder and chairman of OneWeb (members only)
Greg Wyler has corralled blue-chip companies to invest in his dream to beam affordable broadband Internet signals around the world, a mission he sees as a prerequisite to providing billions of unconnected, underserved people with the tools necessary to succeed in a modern marketplace of goods, services and information.