Vega flight VV04
| The Vega launch vehicle and IXV spacecraft, depicted in front of the Earth Artwork featured on visitors' brochures | |
| Vega launch | |
|---|---|
| Launch | 11 February 2015, 13:40:00 UTC |
| Operator | Arianespace |
| Pad | Kourou ELV |
| Payload | Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle |
| Outcome | Success |
| Vega launches | |
Vega flight VV04 is the space launch of the IXV experimental re-entry vehicle by the 4th Vega rocket.
Payload
The flight was a single-payload mission that put the IXV prototype spaceplane into sub-orbital spaceflight. The total payload mass was approximately 1,932 kilograms (4,259 lb), including the spacecraft and its adapter.
IXV
The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (abbreviated IXV) was 5.058 metres (16.59 ft) long, 1.540 metres (5 ft 0.6 in) high, and 2.2369 metres (7 ft 4.07 in) wide.[1] It had a lift-off mass of approximately 1,845 kilograms (4,068 lb), and was the only payload of the flight.
IXV was designed and manufactured by a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space.
Mission description
Launch time and location
The launch was initially foreseen for 1 November 2014 but was postponed to allow further analyses of the flight path. The 4th successful Vega flight finally took place on 11 February 2015 at 13:40:00 UTC (10:00:00 local time) from the ELV launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
Orbit
The sub-orbital flight was planned to last about 100 minutes from lift-off until splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, near coordinate 3°18′N 123°10′W / 3.3°N 123.16°W
.[1]
Statistics
The mission was the 4th launch of the Vega launcher (the 1st out of 3 in 2015), and the 261st Arianespace mission (the 1st in 2015).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Marco, Victor; Contreras, Rafael; Sanchez, Raul; Rodriguez, Guillermo; Serrano, Daniel; Kerr, Murray; Fernandez, Vicente; Haya-Ramos, Rodrigo; Peñin, Luis F.; Ospina, Jose A.; De Zaiacomo, Gabriale; Bejar-Romero, Juan Antonio; Yague, Ricardo; Zaccagnino, Elio; Preaud, Jean-Philippe (July 2016). "The IXV guidance, navigation and control subsystem: Development, verification and performances". Acta Astronautica. 124: 53–66. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.04.010.
External links
- "Vega Flight VV04". Arianespace. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
- "VV04 – IXV Spaceplane". European Space Agency. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
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