Avio · Italy / ESA · First flight 2022
ESA's upgraded small-to-medium launch vehicle with improved performance over the original Vega. Uses the P120C solid motor shared with Ariane 6 as its first stage. Returned to flight in December 2024 after a two-year stand-down, completing four successful missions in 2025.
From SpaceNexus's launch tracker (tracked since Dec 5, 2024); outcomes recorded as each flight lands. Career totals above are the vehicle's full history.
| Height | 34.8 m |
| Diameter | 3.4 m |
| Liftoff mass | 210,000 kg |
| Stages | 4 |
| Engines | P120C + Zefiro-40 + Zefiro-9 + AVUM+ |
| Propellant | HTPB (solid) + UDMH/N2O4 (AVUM+) |
| Fairing diameter | 3.3 m |
| Payload to LEO | 2,300 kg |
| Payload to GTO | — |
| Payload to SSO | 1,500 kg |
| Payload to TLI | — |
| Reusable | No |
| First flight | 2022-07-13 |
| Last flight | Active |
| Variants seen on the manifest | Vega-C |
A dedicated Vega-C launch lists at roughly $37 million, about $16,087 per kilogram to low Earth orbit at full payload. Actual contract prices vary with orbit, integration and government requirements.
The next tracked Vega-C launch is Sentinel-3C & FLEX on Sep 15, 2026, 01:21 UTC from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana. Dates move; Mission Control carries the live countdown.
Vega-C has flown 7 times with 6 successes, 1 failures and 0 partial failures — a 85.7% success rate, with 5 consecutive successes at last count.
2,300 kg to low Earth orbit, 1,500 kg to sun-synchronous orbit.