Vega flight VV02
Vega flight VV02 was the second flight of the Vega launcher. It occurred from the Guiana Space Centre on 7 May 2013 at 02:06:31UTC. Payload. The flight was a multi-payload mission that deployed 3 satellites (2 Earth observation satellites and 1 educational CubeSat) into orbit, with a total payload mass of about including the satellites themselves (about 255 kg) and the satellites adapter and dispenser. PROBA-V. PROBA-Vegetation, with a mass of , was in the upper position and was the first satellite to be separated, approximately 55 minutes and 27 seconds after liftoff. Its target  was a quasi-circular sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of and an inclination of 98.73°. VNREDSat-1. VNREDSat-1, with a mass of , was in the lower position. Its target orbit was a quasi-circular sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of and an inclination of 98.1°, to be deployed 1 hour, 57 minutes and 24 seconds after liftoff. ESTCube-1. The "Estonian Student Satellite-1" (ESTCube-1), with a 1U volume and a mass of , was the only CubeSat onboard Vega's second flight. It was accommodated in the lower position of the structure, and was deployed by the ISIPOD dispenser  3 minutes and 24 seconds after VNREDSat-1 in approximately the same orbit. It operated for more than 2 years before contact was completely lost on 19 May 2015. Mission description. Launch date. After being postponed twice, the successful Vega flight took place on 7 May 2013 at 02:06:31UTC (6 May 2013 at 23:06:31 local time) from the ELV launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana. It was the Arianespace launch of 2013 after Ariane 5 VA212, followed by another 3 Ariane 5 and 2 Soyuz flights. Orbit. The mission was planned to last 2 hours and 48 seconds, placing its respectively  primary and secondary payloads into quasi-circular sun-synchronous orbits at altitudes of respectively and .