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Vega-C

Vega-C is the active higher-performance successor to the original Vega. Its four-stage architecture uses the P120C, Zefiro-40, Zefiro-9, and restartable AVUM+ stages, increasing payload capability and volume while sharing the P120C motor architecture with Ariane 6.

Vega-C
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Identity

Aliases
Vega CVega Consolidation
Family Name
Vega
Full Name
Vega-C
Status
active
Type
rocket
Variant Name
C

Details

Description
Vega-C is the active higher-performance successor to the original Vega. Its four-stage architecture uses the P120C, Zefiro-40, Zefiro-9, and restartable AVUM+ stages, increasing payload capability and volume while sharing the P120C motor architecture with Ariane 6.
Dimensions
Diameter
…
Height
…
First Flight Year
2,022
Manufacturer
Operator
Parent Vehicle Family
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Variant Notes
      One P160C solid rocket motor replaces P120C as the Vega-C first-stage upgrade boundary; rollout remains separately sourced.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
    Name
    Vega-C P160C upgrade
    Notes
    ESA identifies P160C as the P120C successor and documents it for Vega-C first-stage propulsion; the existing P120C stack remains preserved as the current baseline.
Rocket Specs
Liftoff Mass
…
Payload Capacity
LEO
…
SSO
…
Reusability
expendable
Stages Count
4

Links

Official Url
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Vega/Vega-C
Wikipedia Url
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_C

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 13, 2026 at 10:07:51 UTC
Updated Time
August 13, 2026 at 20:27:00 UTC
Image
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