Vega VV20

 

By Astrophilatelie Martin

Vega VV20, launching on November 16, 2021. Twelfth launch of the year and third with Vega. The mission also marks the 300th launch of Arianespace with its launch range from the Guyana Space Center. This flight allowed to place three CERES satellites in orbit, developed under the supervision of the Directorate General of Weapons (DGA) with the assistance of the National Centre for Spatial Studies (CNES) for the benefit of the French Armed Forces. The three CERES satellites (Spatial Electromagnetic Intelligence Capacity) aim to collect electromagnetic information from areas that surface sensors cannot reach, without the constraints of flyover airspace and at all times, thus providing an in-depth situational image to support the design and execution of military operations. This state-of-the-art technology system, whose mastery of the space segment has been entrusted to Airbus Defense and Space, in co-mastery with Thales Defense Mission System for the payload and the ground user segment, allows France to join the very closed group most advanced countries in this field. On the other hand, Thales Alenia Space acts as a subcontractor to Airbus Defense and Space for the provision of the satellite platform.