Vega flight VV16


Vega flight VV16, also called SSMS PoC Flight, will be the launch of the Vega rocket.

Payload

This first low Earth orbit rideshare commercial flight for 21 customers from 13 countries will embark 53 satellites arranged in the modular SSMS dispenser.
Of these 53 satellites, 7 weigh between 15 kg and 150 kg, and the other 46 are smaller CubeSats :
NameMassOrbitLifetimeOwnerManufacturerApplicationNotes
ATHENA138 kg515 km SSO2 yearsPointView Maxar TechnologiesTelecommunication
GHGSat-C115.4 kg515 km SSO3 yearsGHGSatSFLRemote sensing
NEMO-HD65 kg515 km SSO3-5 yearsSpace-SISFL with Space-SIRemote sensing
UPMSat-245 kg515 km SSO2 yearsIRD-UPMIRD-UPMTech. demo.
ESAIL112 kg515 km SSO4 yearsExactEarthLuxSpaceRemote sensing
ION CubeSat Carrier150 kg515 km SSO4 yearsPlanet LabsD-OrbitTech. demo.Contains 12 CubeSats.
NewSat-643.5 kg515 km SSO3-4 yearsSatellogicSatellogicRemote sensing
SpaceBEE 10-21530 km SSOSwarm TechnologySwarm TechnologyTelecommunication12 CubeSats
Flock-4v 1-14530 km SSOPlanet LabsPlanet LabsRemote sensing14 CubeSats
LEMUR-2 112-119530 km SSOSPIRE GlobalSPIRE GlobalTelecommunication8 CubeSats
³Cat-5 /A and /B530 km SSOUPC and ESADeimos and TyvakRemote sensing2 CubeSats
DIDO-3530 km SSOSpacePharmaSpacePharmaResearch1 CubeSat
PICASSO-BE530 km SSOESABIRA-IASBRemote sensing1 CubeSat
SIMBA530 km SSOESAKMI-IRMRemote sensing1 CubeSat
TRISAT530 km SSOUniversity of MariborSkyLabsRemote sensing1 CubeSat
TTÜ-100530 km SSOTalTechTalTechRemote sensing1 CubeSat
AMICal Sat530 km SSOCSUG and MSUCSUG and SatRevolutionRemote sensing1 CubeSat
NAPA-1530 km SSORoyal Thai Air ForceISISpaceRemote sensing1 CubeSat
TARS-1530 km SSOKepler CommunicationsÅAC Clyde SpaceTelecommunication1 CubeSat
Tyvak-0171530 km SSO'Tyvak'1 CubeSat
OSM-1 Cicero530 km SSOOrbital SolutionsTyvakRemote sensing1 CubeSat

Launch campaign

Launch campaign activities were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent the spread of the epidemic in French Guiana and protect Guiana Space Centre employees, all launch activities were suspended on. Operations for VV16 and Ariane flight VA253 could not resume until. VV16 activities were listed among the top priorities at the reopening of the Guiana Space Center on.

Flight

The flight was initially scheduled to take place on at 01:51:10 UTC but got postponed twice due to unfavourable high-altitude winds. The launch was then postponed to take place on at 01:51:10 UTC, and later to at 01:51 UTC due to the weather conditions, and finally had to be postponed again until August 17, 2020. It will be launched from the ELV launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana.
It will deploy all satellites into 2 slightly different Sun-synchronous orbits: the 7 heaviest satellites will be separated at an altitude of roughly 515 km, before the upper stage is re-ignited to place the 46 lightest satellites at an altitude of approximately 530 km.