Failure of Vega C: the manufacturer Avio placed “under European supervision”

Two and a half months after the failure of the first commercial flight of Vega C, a new version of the small Italian rocket, the commission of inquiry set up in the process delivered its conclusions on Friday. After analysis of flight data, the failure was due to a deterioration of a part (the nozzle throat) of the rocket’s Zephiro 40 engine, supplied by Youzhnoye, a Ukrainian subcontractor.

However, the takeoff had gone well. On December 20, 2022, Vega C set off at 10:47 p.m. (local time) from Kourou in French Guiana, with two Earth observation satellites on board, Pléiades Neo 5 and 6, on behalf of Airbus Defense & Space. But two minutes and twenty-seven seconds later, the rocket deviated from its trajectory, at an altitude of more than 100 km…