Biomass
Vega-C
Arianespace
Rocket Launch Videos
Rocket Launch Timeline
Enhance your rocket launch experience with a detailed timeline! From pre-launch preparations to post-launch milestones, a well-structured schedule ensures every step—payload prep, safety checks, and liftoff—runs smoothly. Stay informed and follow the action with precision.
| T+ 00 : 00 : 00 | Liftoff First upwards movement of the rocket |
| T+ 00 : 02 : 25 | Stage 2 Separation Separation of the second stage from the first |
| T+ 00 : 04 : 31 | Stage 3 Separation Separation of the third stage from the second |
| T+ 00 : 04 : 43 | Fairing Separation Separation of the payload fairing |
| T+ 00 : 07 : 10 | Kick Stage Separation Separation of the kick stage from the previous stage |
| T+ 00 : 08 : 00 | Kick Stage Burn The kick stage conducts an engine burn in orbit. |
| T+ 00 : 53 : 00 | Kick Stage Burn The kick stage conducts an engine burn in orbit. |
| T+ 00 : 57 : 00 | Payload Separation Final deployment of the payload from the rocket |
| T+ 01 : 46 : 00 | Kick Stage Burn The kick stage conducts an engine burn in orbit. |
Mission
Biomass
- Type: Earth Science
- Orbit: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
- Launch Cost: $48,000,000
Biomass is an European Space Agency mission designed to measure the density of carbon stored in the world's forests. The spacecraft, built by Airbus Defence and Space, features the first civilian P-band synthetic aperture radar as well as a 12m-diameter deployable reflector from L3Harris made of over 900 km of gold-coated molybdenum 25µm wire.
With a minimum operational lifetime of 5 years in its 666km 6am/6pm sun-synchronous orbit, the global coverage achieved every 9 months allows to precisely monitor the evolution of forests over time.
Location
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) has witnessed the launch of 52 rockets, including 52 orbital launch attempts. While Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, has been the site for 325 rocket launches.
The Guiana Space Centre is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its equatorial location and open sea to the east.
Rocket
Avio S.p.A Vega-C
Vega-C is a single-body rocket nearly 35 m high with that weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad. As with Vega, its main elements are three solid-propellant stages, an upper stage powered by a reignitable liquid-propellant engine and a payload fairing. Vega-C's P120C first stage replaces Vega’s smaller P80 to provide a significant increase in thrust at liftoff. It is also used as boosters (2 or 4) for the Ariane 6 rocket.
Agency
Arianespace
Arianespace SA is a multinational company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane programme. Their vehicles launch exclusively from French Guiana in South America.
