LIGHT FLIGHT: VEGA: FIRST START

From Kourou for the first time launched a new European launcher Vega. Let's look at it and its cargo closer.
Development of Vega began in 1998. ESA and cost more than a billion dollars - with more than 60 % of the funding claimed Italy. Initially, her first start scheduled for 2008. But often tolerated. The missile is a light-weight class: tridtsatimetrovy media designed to remove the loads from 300 kg to 2.5 tons into orbit altitude of 300 to 1500 km. In other words, from micro to small satellites.

Vega is designed to complete a range of media used by the European space, becoming the complement to the heavy rocket, Ariane 5 ( payload of 20 tonnes and above) and an average of ...

Our same lightweight rockets can be considered the main competitors of European news. Similar characteristics have conversion RN ... In addition, this summer are going to experience the same media in the U.S. - it will be easy rocket Antares.

In the meantime, it is reported that all four stages of Vega, including three solid and liquid fuel in the fourth, worked nominally. This is a rather unusual layout for easy media - by the way, ...

In any case, the 81- minute flight after launch from Kourou in French Guiana is regarded as ... In the ESA claim that the media will finally into operation only after the successful launches of three such.

Before today's launch aboard the Vega placed a cluster of nine satellites with a total mass of about 1.5 m. Among them there are seven ... Apart from them, on board a 12.5 -kg microsatellite ALMASat- 1, with which it is planned to work out new technology of spacecraft control.

However, the most important and interesting companion in the cluster is an Italian unit LARES. With 36.4 cm in diameter, weighs about 400 pounds and must be lifted into orbit up to 1400 km. Here he reveals a mirror 92, on board, for a rather interesting experiments to test and refine some of the consequences of General Relativity (GR). With the help of the international system ILRS laser scientists will be able to send pulses to the LARES strictly defined characteristics, and pick up the reflected signal.

In this way, they plan to observe the following from general relativity, the drag of inertial frames of reference - it should show the appearance of additional accelerations acting on an object moving near a rotating massive body. Earlier, Italian scientists have already shown the effect of this effect is roughly the same experiment: the laser beam allows the most precise way to register the distance to the satellite, and to detect the influence of the effect on the inclination of its orbit.