Vega C Rocket Launch Delayed to Christmas Due to Late Satellites
Italian rocket maker Avio reports that the upcoming Vega C launch has been pushed back to around Christmas. CEO Giulio Ranzo stated during an earnings call that the delay is caused by late satellite deliveries from customers. The mission will carry six spacecraft for Italy's IRIDE Earth observation network.
Original image temporarily unavailable
According to Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo, speaking during the company's third-quarter earnings call, the third Vega C launch of 2026 has slipped by two to three weeks from its initial early December schedule. The mission will carry six satellites for Italy's IRIDE Earth observation constellation, which were recently delivered to the Guiana Space Centre by air. Ranzo noted that payload delivery delays have repeatedly impacted Avio's launch schedule this year, preventing the company from conducting more than three launches so far. While Avio previously aimed for up to five launches in 2027, Ranzo tempered expectations during the November call, indicating a more gradual increase to four annual flights, dependent on customers meeting their spacecraft delivery timelines.
View selection rationale
Importance 38/100
About this brief
- Content type
- News summary
- Source type
- Publisher report
- Original source
- European Spaceflight ↗
- Source published
- Process
- AI-assisted discovery, translation, summarisation, classification and scoring; standards and corrections are maintained by the editorial desk.
- Verification
- The original URL and publication metadata are retained. This brief is not independently fact-checked unless explicitly stated.
- Published by
- Polyemergence Editorial Desk · PolyEmergence Pte Ltd.
- Conflict disclosure
- No financial or commercial conflict declared.