spacetoday.net: Vega launches three satellites

Posted: Tue, May 7, 2013, 6:36 AM ET (1036 GMT)
Vega launch of Proba-V et al. (Arianespace)

After a three-day delay because of weather, a European Vega rocket successfully launched three small satellites Monday night. The Vega lifted off from Kourou, Frnech Guiana, at 10:06 pm EDT Monday (0206 GMT Tuesday) and placed three satellites into low Earth orbit. The 138-kilogram Proba-V, built by QinetiQ Space Belgium for ESA, is designed to demonstrate new spacecraft technologies and also carries a vegatation sensor. VNREDSat-1, a 115-kilogram satellite built by EADS Astrium for Vietnam, will also perform remote sensing observations from a separate sun-synchronous orbit from Proba-V. The rocket also carried into orbit an Estonian student-built CubeSat, ESTCube-1. The launch, the second for the small Vega rocket, had been planned for Friday night but was postponed by gusty upper-level winds.