Europe’s new Vega-C rocket was lost shortly after lift-off from French Guiana with two satellites on board, in the latest blow to European space efforts.
The launch failure on Tuesday night threatens to ground the Vega-C, which would leave Europe without a short-term way to send satellites into orbit after delays to the Ariane 6 rocket and cancelled Russian cooperation over the Ukraine war.
If it had been successful, it would have been the first commercial launch of the Vega-C since its inaugural flight on July 13.
But just minutes after lift-off, the launcher’s trajectory deviated from its programmed route and communications were lost.
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