The family of European rockets is growing. The next one is the youngest, called Vega, soon to be launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. This new rocket complements the range that Europe already has to offer in the commercial market.

This time-lapse shows the full assembly of the first Vega launcher at the launch pad, in preparation for its qualification flight. It starts with the transfer and installation of the P80 first stage from the Vega Booster Storage and Preparation Building to the launch pad, followed by the two solid-propellant second and third stages, the Zefiro-23 and Zefiro-9. The next step was to add the AVUM – Attitude & Vernier Upper Module – liquid-propellant fourth stage to the vehicle.

The ‘upper composite’ – the fairing and payload – was moved to the pad on 24 January and integrated over night.