ESA Pushes Vega C Return to Flight to Late 2024

The European Space Agency (ESA) has delayed the return to flight of the Vega C small launch vehicle to late 2024 after an investigation revealed that a rocket motor nozzle needs to be redesigned. The anomaly occurred during a static-fire test in June, unrelated to a previous launch failure in December 2022. The redesign of the nozzle will be followed by two static-fire tests before Vega C can resume flights. The cost of the additional work will be funded within existing budgets, and the return-to-flight costs are estimated to be around 25-30 million euros ($26.3-31.6 million).