Cape Canaveral – After the success of its first four launches, including the recent launch of the experimental IXV re-entry vehicle on 11 February, VEGA will be bringing satellites made by US company Skybox Imaging into orbit in 2016. Skybox was bought by Google last year, and produces remote sensing images for commercial use. The company develops satellites based on the CubeSat concept, which aims to simplify the satellite’s structure and functions in order to minimize costs. The VEGA project was created in Italy, and Italian industry played a key role in developing it, with ELV, a company owned 70% by AVIO and 30% by the Italian Space Agency, overseeing the development of the whole launcher while Avio developed and built the four propellant stages. (9colonne)
