Kurú (French Guiana), 13 feb (EFE).-the new Vega rocket, the first spacecraft that launches the European aerospace industry in the 21st century, culminated today with success its risky maiden flight in one hour and 21 minutes, faithful to the programme of the European Space Agency (ESA).
The Vega, a rocket from 30 meters in height and 137 tonnes destined to place in orbit of small loads, took off at 1000 GMT from the center space European of Kurú, in French Guiana, it reached an altitude of 1,450 kilometres above the Earth and deployed nine scientific satellites, including the Xatcobeo Spanish.
“No longer any European satellite that can not be put into orbit by a European launch service”, pointed out at the end of the Mission of ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain, director before a Chamber in which the success of a launch that represents more than nine years of work and 710 million euros of investment (US $942 million) was held without fuss.
El Vega, whose reference to load is 1.5 tons transported to 700 kilometers of altitude, complete family of launchers that operates Europe and joins Ariane 5, for heavy loads, and the Russian Soyuz, which take off from Kurú with intermediate masses since last October.
The words of the exastronauta served as a final point a long hour of tension contained scientists and public suffered in silence and gave way to a burst of applause, hugs and thumbs raised. Minutes later, between the tropical humidity of Kurú were heard chants mixed with champagne enthusiasts.
Responsible for the pitcher, who had insisted that the maiden flight has piloted, they feared that you repeat the disaster of June 5, 1996, when the Ariane 5 exploded a minute after leaving the launch pad for the first time making the rocket and its payload in a trail of colters in heaven.
But the scientific work of a decade allowed for the maiden flight of the Vega, called VV01 and operated by Arianespace, to successfully complete its agenda.
In the three early stages were burned – in 5 minutes and 47 seconds – 122,3 tons of solid fuel to carry the payload into orbit desired.
Then the “brain” of the Vega, a 20 cubic metres module called AVUM, began a complex dance space of one hour and 15 minutes in which ignited and extinguished several times their engines to expel the satellite LARES, Italian technology that aims to analyze the distortion of space-time enunciated by Albert Einstein.
Later left the rocket ALMASat-1, conceived at the University of Bologna (Italy) and, finally, the seven “nanosatellites” CubeSats developed by seven European universities through the work of 250 students from 10 different countries.
Copy Spanish the burden of “picosatélites” of form cube with 10 cm side and a kilo of weight, the Xatcobeo, has been developed by the University of Vigo, in collaboration with the National Institute for aerospace technology (INTA), Retegal and the Ministry of science and research.
Responsible for the project, Fernando Aguado, which followed the takeoff live told Efe that the release was “a very exciting, unique moment” and thanked “these years of work” to students and to the INTA.
El Xatcobeo carried out a campaign of measures of radiation of high energy particles, practically on the inner ring of Van Allen, that could crystallize with applications ranging from the reception of signals from maritime surveillance to the image capture of average resolution for the fire control.
Spain, along with France, Holland, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland, is one of the countries (with a 4.6 per cent) which has contributed to the success of a rocket where raw seal of Italy, which started the dream of developing small pitcher and has generated more than half of the ship.
The Spanish aerospace industry will recover its investment of 33 million euros ($43.8 million) through contracts with companies such as EADS CASA space and Astrium Crisa, involved in the manufacture of rocket.
The next five releases of Vega are insured through the program Verta ESA, which will provide 400 billion additional euros for that series.
Later, the Vega begin its commercial activity at a rate of two launches per year at a price of about 32 million euros for take-off ($ 42 million) for a niche in the global market annually provide between 30 and 40 satellites.
By Javier Albisu
The new rocket, Vega, the smaller spacecraft of the European Space Agency (ESA), takes off from the space European Centre of Kurú, French Guiana, today, Monday, February 13, 2012. EFE
image without dating provided today 13 February 2012 by the European Space Agency (ESA), of the spacecraft Vega, the smallest of the rockets which operates in Europe, the Central European space of Kurú, in French Guiana. EFE
