P120C
P120C is the common monolithic carbon-composite solid rocket motor developed by Europropulsion for Vega-C's first stage and for two- or four-motor Ariane 6 strap-on configurations. ESA places it in production and reports about 142–143.6 t propellant, roughly 4,500 kN liftoff/average thrust, and about 130 s burn; Avio publishes 4,500 kN average thrust, 278.5 s specific impulse, and 132.8 s combustion time. The active lifecycle is retained with the exact shared-launcher application boundary.
Identity
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- model
- Kind
- solid-rocket-motor
- Name
- P120C
- Status
- active
Details
- Description
- P120C is the common monolithic carbon-composite solid rocket motor developed by Europropulsion for Vega-C's first stage and for two- or four-motor Ariane 6 strap-on configurations. ESA places it in production and reports about 142–143.6 t propellant, roughly 4,500 kN liftoff/average thrust, and about 130 s burn; Avio publishes 4,500 kN average thrust, 278.5 s specific impulse, and 132.8 s combustion time. The active lifecycle is retained with the exact shared-launcher application boundary.
- Developers
- Manufacturers
- Propellants
- solid propellant
- Rocket Specs
- Burn Time S
- 132.8
- Sea Level Thrust Kn
- 4,500
- Vacuum Specific Impulse S
- 278.5
Links
- Official Url
- https://www.avio.com/p120c
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 29, 2026 at 10:29:07 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 15, 2026 at 04:04:28 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Publisher
- European Space Agency
- Title
- ESA-developed P120C solid rocket motor enters production
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Note
- Supports the canonical Vega-C vehicle installation and the shared Ariane 6 booster application.
- Publisher
- European Space Agency
- Title
- Vega-C
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- Avio's current product page publishes P120C dimensions, 143.6 t propellant mass, 11,000 kg dry motor mass, 4,500 kN average thrust, 278.5 s specific impulse, and 132.8 s combustion time.
- Publisher
- Avio S.p.A.
- Title
- P120 C motor main characteristics
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- ESA reports P120C production for Vega-C and Ariane 6, including its common-motor strategy and approximately 130 s burn with about 142 t propellant.
- Publisher
- European Space Agency
- Title
- ESA-developed P120C solid rocket motor enters production