spacetoday.net: Vega launches Kazakh remote sensing satellite

Posted: Wed, Apr 30, 2014, 9:05 AM ET (1305 GMT)
Vega launch of KazEOSat-1 (Arianespace)

A Vega rocket successfully launched a remote sensing satellite for the government of Kazakhstan Tuesday night. The Vega rocket lifted off at 9:35 pm EDT Tuesday (10:35 pm local time Tuesday, 0135 GMT Wednesday) and placed the KazEOSat-1 (formerly known as DZZ-HR) satellite into Sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite, built by Airbus Defence and Space for the government of Kazakhstan, will provide imagery with resolutions of as sharp as one meter to support various civil applications. The satellite was scheduled for launch Monday night but a problem with an umbilical between the launch tower and the vehicle postponed the launch. The launch was the third for the Vega, a European rocket designed to launch smaller satellites.