KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A European Vega light-haul launch vehicle powered by a Ukrainian engine successfully brought the Turkish Defense Ministry’s Gokturk-1 satellite into orbit from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana, South America, the Ukrainian State Space Agency said in a report.
The launch performed at 15:51 Kyiv time on Monday was the eighth mission in the Vega program and the second Vega launch of 2016, the report said.
The Vega was designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for carrying satellites with a weight up to 1,200 kilos to a 1,200-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit and satellites with a weight of 1,500 kilograms to a 700-kilometer polar orbit. The RD-868P cruise engine for the fourth stage of the rocket was developed by the Yuzhnoye (Pivdenne) Design Bureau and built by the Yuzhmash (Pivdenmash) Plant (both situated in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine).
The trial launch of a Vega LV was successfully accomplished in February 2012, and the ESA commenced use of the new rocket in May 2013.
The Ukrainian government and the ESA signed an agreement on cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space in 2008. The ESA unites 17 European countries.
The medium-term plans announced by the Ukrainian State Space Agency in 2015 include Ukraine’s gradual entry into the ESA and integration of the Ukrainian rocket and space industry with the European one.
