Successful firing of Vega’s first-stage motor in Kourou

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Vega P80 first stage motor arriving at the Booster Engine Test Stand (Btiment dEssai dAcclrateur Poudre - BEAP) after being transferred from the Booster Integration Building (Btiment dIntgration des Propulseurs - BIP) Credits: ESACNES
Vega P80 first stage motor arriving at the Booster Engine Test Stand (Bâtiment d'Essai d'Accélérateur à Poudre - BEAP) after being transferred from the Booster Integration Building (Bâtiment d'Intégration des Propulseurs - BIP) Credits: ESA/CNES

The largest European mono-segment filament-wound case solid propellant motor ever developed came to life at 12:30 Kourou time today (15:30 UT) when it was ignited for its first static firing test at the Guiana Space Centre, Europe’s Spaceport, in Kourou, French Guiana.


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