LAUNCH OF EUROPE’S VEGA ROCKET, Oct 8, 2023, Kourou, French Guiana, 9:36 pm EDT

Update, October 8: The launch was rescheduled for today at 9:36 pm ET.

Update, October 6: The launch was scrubbed 14 seconds before liftoff. Details TBD.

Update, October 2:  ESA and Arianespace have decided to have another Vega launch next year as they continue to get Vega-C back to flight.  The next Vega-C is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Original Entry: Arianespace will conduct the final launch of Europe’s Vega rocket on October 6, 2023 from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana at 10:36 pm local time (9:36 pm EDT).  It will launch two earth observation satellites, THEOS-2 for Thailand and FORMOSAT-7R/TRITON for Taiwan, plus 10 “auxiliary payloads.”

Vega, the smallest of Europe’s space launch vehicles, is being replaced by the more capable Vega-C and this is the final launch of this version.

After an initial successful launch in July 2022, Vega-C failed in December 2022 and suffered another setback in June 2023 when a redesigned engine failed during a static fire test. ESA is holding a press briefing on the status of Vega-C on Monday, October 2.