Paris (AFP)

The firing of the European Vega rocket, postponed for the first time because of the coronavirus crisis and then twice because of the weather, is now scheduled for Saturday from Kourou in French Guiana, Arianespace announced in a statement.

"The meteorological conditions observed above the Guyanese Space Center make it possible to resume the chronology of the VV16 launch (Vol Vega n ° 16)," announced the company in charge of marketing the light launcher.

The shooting is scheduled for Saturday at 10.51 p.m. Kourou time (03.51 a.m. Sunday morning Paris time), "subject to confirmation of favorable weather conditions," adds Arianespace.

This flight will mark the return of the Vega rocket since its failure in the summer of 2019, which had led to its destruction, as a precaution.

Takeoff had originally been scheduled for March 18 but was postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. And last week, the launch had to be canceled twice again due to adverse weather conditions.

The "VV16" mission for Arianespace is unprecedented for Europeans because they will carry out their first shared launch ("rideshare"), by placing 53 satellites in low orbit on behalf of 21 customers, from 13 different countries.

Space Europe will thus enter this booming market, where competition - in particular that of the American SpaceX - is raging.

This "cluster" is made up of seven small satellites (weighing between 15 and 150 kilos), as well as 46 nano-satellites, ranging from 300 grams to 11 kilos. Their applications range from communication to Earth observation, via scientific research.

"With this grouped flight, we will standardize access to space for small payloads that will be able to + take the metro instead of taking an individual taxi +", Daniel Neuenschwander, director of space transport, told AFP. from the European Space Agency (ESA).

"For the first time Europe will be able to consolidate a mission with several dozen satellites on board, which has already been done by other launchers around the world", in particular the American SpaceX, detailed by Stéphane Israel, executive president of Arianespace.

An identical system will also be proposed by the future heavy launcher Ariane 6, whose inaugural flight had to be postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

© 2020 AFP