Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 4 |
| 2027 | 0 | 5 |
| 2028 | 0 | 6 |
| 2029 | 0 | 6 |
| 2030 | 0 | 6 |
| 2031 | 0 | 6 |
| 2032 | 0 | 6 |
| 2033 | 0 | 6 |
| 2034 | 0 | 6 |
| 2035 | 0 | 6 |
| 2036 | 0 | 6 |
| 2037 | 0 | 6 |
| 2038 | 0 | 6 |
| 2039 | 0 | 6 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vega C | LEO | 3,300 kg | Unknown | Unknown | ESA Vega-C page |
Vega C | LEO | 3,000 kg | 500 km | 5.2 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| SMILE Mission | Vega C | May 19, 2026 |
| Kompsat-7 | Vega C | Dec 1, 2025 |
| CO3D/MicroCarb | Vega C | Jul 26, 2025 |
| Biomass Mission |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Vega C | Not stated | 7 | Active |
Vega-C Block 2 | 4 | 0 | Development |
| 2040 | 0 | 6 |
| 2041 | 0 | 6 |
1 launch location represented.
| Year | Location | Launches | Confidence | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 4 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2027 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 5 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2028 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2029 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2030 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2031 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2032 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2033 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2034 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2035 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2036 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2037 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2038 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2039 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2040 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. |
| 2041 | Guiana Space Centre | Vega Launch Zone | 6 | 35% | Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization. Site-year coverage backfill copied n... |
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C | LEO | 2,560 kg | 700 km | 50 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega C | LEO | 2,550 kg | 500 km | 50 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega C | LEO | 2,470 kg | 500 km | 70 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega C | SSO | 2,423 kg | 500 km | 97.4 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega C | LEO | 2,410 kg | 700 km | 70 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega C | LEO | 2,350 kg | 500 km | 25 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega C | LEO | 2,340 kg | 700 km | 25 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega C | SSO | 2,300 kg | Unknown | Unknown | ESA Vega-C page |
Vega C | SSO | 2,266 kg | 700 km | 98.2 deg | Avio Vega C User's Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega C | SSO | 2,200 kg | 700 km | Unknown | CNES CSG Vega-C page |
Vega C | HEO | 2,200 kg | Unknown | Unknown | Avio Vega C User Manual Issue 1 Rev 0 |
Vega-C Block 2 | LEO | 600 kg | Unknown | Unknown | Space Launch Now Vega-C Block 2 / Space Rider |
Vega C |
| Apr 29, 2025 |
| Sentinel-1C Mission | Vega C | Dec 5, 2024 |
| Launch 2022-F06 | Vega C | Dec 21, 2022 |
| LARES 2 Mission | Vega C | Jul 13, 2022 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
Vega C cadence curve: conservative European small-launch steady state after return-to-flight and production normalization.
ESA plans to launch both Harmony satellites in 2029 aboard a single Vega C Block 2 rocket with the P160C booster upgrade.
The Vega C Block 2 variant replaces the current P120C solid-fuel booster with the P160C booster.
ESA has linked the delay in the Vega C P160C upgrade to the fact that the planned Vega C mission would not require additional performance and to the need to dedicate initial P160C manufacturing capacity to Ariane 6 missions.
ESA expects the first Vega C flight with the P160C booster not to occur until 2028 and to carry the first flight of the reusable Space Rider spacecraft.
The P160C booster increases the payload capacity of both Vega C and Ariane 6.
ESA identified Vega C as the Harmony mission’s baseline launch vehicle in June 2025.
Arianespace’s revenue decline reflects the retirement of Ariane 5, the delay in Ariane 6’s introduction, the rise of SpaceX as the dominant commercial launch provider, and repeated failures of the Vega-C rocket.
Space Rider is an uncrewed orbital laboratory platform designed to fly on Vega-C and return to Earth with cargo, experiments, and technology demonstrators after missions in low Earth orbit.
Arianespace was awarded contracts on 29 November 2022 to launch five Sentinel satellites on Vega C rockets for the European Union’s Copernicus programme.
The European Space Agency paid more than €51 million to launch the European Commission’s Sentinel-1C Earth observation satellite on a Vega C rocket on 5 December 2024.
Avio operates Vega-C launch missions.
SMILE is scheduled to launch on a Vega-C rocket from French Guiana no earlier than May 19.
Arianespace received a €1.28 million contract in 2019 for a Vega C launcher compatibility study for the Sentinel-1C mission.
India’s PSLV rocket is 10 metres taller than Vega C.
India’s PSLV rocket has a payload capacity to low Earth orbit comparable to Vega C.
Rokot’s payload capacity to low Earth orbit was 1,900 kilograms, compared with 3,300 kilograms for Vega C.
Avio discovered technical issues with subsystem components during Vega-C production that may have affected SMILE’s launch campaign.
On 8 April 2022, the European Space Agency awarded Arianespace the contract to launch Sentinel-1C on a Vega C rocket.
If divided equally across five missions, the €232 million Copernicus bundle equals €46.4 million per Vega C launch.
The Sentinel-1C launch on 5 December 2024 marked Vega C’s return to flight after nearly two years on the ground following a December 2022 failure.