Rocket powered by Ukrainian engine successfully puts Turkish satellites into orbit
The press service of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers reported that the European Vega rocket with a Ukrainian engine was successfully launched.
“On December 5, 2016, at 3:51 p.m. Kyiv time, the Vega launcher for light loads, saddled with the Göktürk-1 surveillance satellite of the Turkish Ministry of Defense was successfully launched from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. The Vega was jointly developed by the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency,” the report stated.
The report noted that the rocket’s RD-843 main liquid-fuel engine for the fourth stage of the launcher vehicle was developed by the Yuzhnoye Design Office named after M.K. Yangel. It was manufactured by the Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant named after A.M. Makarov.
It was the eighth launch by the Vega program and second launch in 2016. As previously reported, a Vega launcher with a Ukrainian engine put into orbit Google satellites on September 16.