Europe's 2nd Vega Rocket Mission in Photos

Vega VV02 Rocket Second Launch #1

ESA/S. Corvaja

The second flight of ESA’s newest launch vehicle has been completed from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 7, 2013 (GMT). Two Earth observation satellites, ESA’s Proba-V and Vietnam’s VNREDSat‑1A, were released into different orbits, demonstrating the rocket’s versatility. Estonia’s first satellite, the ESTCube‑1 technology demonstrator, was also released into orbit.

Vega VV02 Rocket Second Launch #2

ESA/S. Corvaja

On May 7, 2013 (GMT), the European Space Agency's second Vega rocket lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Vega VV02 Rocket Second Launch #3

ESA/S. Corvaja

On May 7, 2013 (GMT), the European Space Agency's second Vega rocket lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Fully Assembled Vega VV02 Rocket on Pad

ESA–S. Corvaja

The European Space Agency's Vega VV02 rocket stands fully assembled on its launch pad, April 22, 2013. Vega VV02 is scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 4, 2013, carrying two satellites. VV02 will loft Proba-V, the first of four ESA missions, into space. Proba-V carries a reduced version of the Vegetation instrument currently flying on the Spot satellites to provide a daily overview of global vegetation growth. The second payload is the Vietnam Natural Resources, Environment and Disaster Monitoring Satellite (VNREDSAT) built by Astrium for the Vietnamese government.

Fully Assembled Vega VV02 Rocket on Pad Wide View

ESA–S. Corvaja

The European Space Agency's Vega VV02 rocket stands fully assembled on its launch pad, April 22, 2013. Vega VV02 is scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 4, 2013, carrying two satellites.

Fully Assembled Vega VV02 Rocket on Pad

ESA–S. Corvaja

The European Space Agency's Vega VV02 rocket stands fully assembled on its launch pad, April 22, 2013. Vega VV02 is scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 4, 2013, carrying two satellites.

Fully Assembled Vega VV02 Rocket on Pad Panoramic View

ESA–S. Corvaja

The European Space Agency's Vega VV02 rocket stands fully assembled on its launch pad, April 22, 2013. Vega VV02 is scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 4, 2013, carrying two satellites.

Fully Assembled Vega VV02 Rocket on Pad

ESA–S. Corvaja

The European Space Agency's Vega VV02 rocket stands fully assembled on its launch pad, April 22, 2013. Vega VV02 is scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 4, 2013, carrying two satellites.

Fully Assembled Vega VV02 in Mobile Gantry

ESA–S. Corvaja

The European Space Agency's Vega VV02 rocket stands fully assembled on its launch pad, April 22, 2013. Vega VV02 is scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 4, 2013, carrying two satellites.

Fully Assembled Vega VV02 in Mobile Gantry

ESA–S. Corvaja

The European Space Agency's Vega VV02 rocket stands fully assembled on its launch pad, April 22, 2013. Vega VV02 is scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 4, 2013, carrying two satellites.

Fully Assembled Vega VV02 in Mobile Gantry

ESA–S. Corvaja

The European Space Agency's Vega VV02 rocket stands fully assembled on its launch pad, April 22, 2013. Vega VV02 is scheduled for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on May 4, 2013, carrying two satellites.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.