Mysterious, immense and fascinating: space is the last frontier of human exploration. An exploration that has seen enormous progress in the last century, with the landing on the moon marking the most important milestone ever achieved. The US and Russia were undoubtedly the most active countries, but in recent years many other nations have been making their way into the stars. And among these there is also Italy with its rocket Vega.
Eight out of eight launches for Vega
On 5 December, Vega left for his eighth mission from the Kourou base in French Guiana. And like the previous ones, this launch was also a success. A prestigious record that places the Italian rocket among the most reliable in circulation.
But what does Vega mean and what is its task? Vega stands for European Advanced Generation Vector and it is a single-body propelled rocket. It is capable of carrying loads up to 2500Kg in low orbit, between 300 and 1500Km from Earth. Most of the time the load was from satellites for monitoring climatic conditions or for telecommunications. However, there was no lack of missions commissioned by other countries, such as the last one which saw the launch of a satellite on behalf of Turkey.
Nothing complicated you will say, but accidents in the space field are much more common than you might imagine. Miscalculations, faulty valves, technical failures, or a simple combination of small elements can lead to the failure of a mission in seconds. The continuous successes of Vega are therefore pure gold in a sector where the unexpected is just around the corner.
And at the moment there are another 10 scheduled launches in the pipeline (3 of which in 2017) on behalf of prestigious European institutions and foreign customers.
From Colleferro to space
Made in the futuristic Colleferro (RM) plant, Vega is currently one of the most technologically advanced rockets in circulation. Its development sees the commitment, on a daily basis, over 700 technicians and engineers from all over the world.
Behind Vega is one of the leading companies in the aerospace sector: theAvio of Colleferro. Its origins date back to the early 900s when, on behalf of FIAT, the AVIO began to venture into the field of aviation. But it was after World War II that the Roman company began the development of rockets capable of reaching space. And within a few decades, between space launches and mergers with other companies, the AVO becomes one of the most important companies in its sector.
At the moment Vega represents the flagship of the company, created in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. But there are other projects in the pipeline that will allow Italy to have its say in the conquest of space.
