The Italian company Avio has shared plans to launch a new rocket, Vega Next, the successor to the Vega E carrier, after 2032, the European Spaceflight publication reports.
The company's engineers are currently working on the Vega C rocket, which will be replaced in the future by the Vega C+ launch vehicle, which runs on the P160, an upgraded version of the P120 solid-fuel booster. According to Avio, the Vega C+ will be able to launch 200 kg more payload into Earth orbit than the Vega C.
The article notes that the implementation of the High Thrust Engine (HTE) program involves the development of the M60 engine by 2026. This power unit is planned to equip the fully liquid-fueled Vega Next rocket.
In 2022, the launch of the Italian Vega C rocket ended in failure – it fell two minutes after launch. The rocket was supposed to put equipment into orbit – the Pleiades Neo 5 and Pleiades Neo 6 Earth remote sensing satellites. The reason for the unsuccessful launch was a malfunction in the engine, which was assembled in Ukraine.
