Europe's Vega small launcher is set to demonstrate its extended capability to deploy multiple light satellites using its new versatile Small Satellites Mission Service (SSMS) dispenser, in the second half of 2018.

This demonstration provides the first of the launch opportunities under the new Light satellite, Low-cost Launch opportunity (LLLor L3) Initiative initiated at the ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level in December 2016 with the aim to provide low-cost and regular launch services for European Institutional light satellites through full exploitation of the Ariane 6 and Vega C launch systems' capabilities.

This first proof-of-concept flight using the current Vega launch system will demonstrate and validate standard innovative services for light satellites.

The SSMS dispenser with its modular design enables Vega to provide launch opportunities for light satellites with an overall mass ranging from 1 kg CubeSats up to 400 kg minisats with different alternative configurations and relevant combinations under a 'rideshare' concept.

Potential customers, be they European public-sector organisations or other entities, are invited to respond to the joint ESA and European Commission Announcement of Opportunity, which can be downloaded here together with its questionnaire, by 31 March.

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CubeSats: Shaping Possibilities in Space
Houston TX (SPX) Feb 24, 2017
For more than a decade, CubeSats, or small satellites, have paved the way to low-Earth orbit for commercial companies, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations. These small satellites offer opportunities to conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations in space in such a way that is cost-effective, timely and relatively easy to accomplish. The cube-shaped sa ... read more

Related Links
Vega at ESA
Microsat News and Nanosat News at SpaceMart.com