Skip to main content

How to watch the first launch of a new European rocket on Thursday

This week, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its new rocket, the Vega-C, on its first flight. An update to the previous Vega rocket, the new version has a mass of 210 tonnes at liftoff and provides a thrust of 4,500 kilonewtons (kN), meaning it can carry around 800 kilograms more payload than its previous version.

Vega-C inaugural launch: mission highlights

The inaugural flight of the Vega-C is set for Wednesday, July 13, at 7:13 a.m. ET (4:30 a.m. PT), in a mission called Flight VV21. The launch will take place from Europe’s spaceport at Kourou in French Guiana, located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. The launch will be livestreamed by ESA, and we have the details below on how to watch.

Recommended Videos

What to expect from the launch

Vega-C on pad VV21 livery artist's impression.
Vega-C on pad VV21 livery artist’s impression. ESA-J. Huart

The new rocket will be used to deliver seven payloads into orbit, with one larger satellite called LARES-2 and six smaller CubeSats. LARES-2 is a scientific research satellite from the Italian Space Agency which will investigate a phenomenon called the frame-dragging effect. This effect is caused by distributions of mass and energy which distort space-time, as described by the theory of relativity.

The six CubeSats are from European countries including Italy, Slovenia, and France, and will be used to investigate topics like detecting biomolecules, growing plants in microgravity, and gathering data on Earth’s magnetosphere.

To carry these payloads, the new rocket requires changes to the launch configuration from the previous Vega rockets. “Vega-C features major enhancements from Vega, both in the rocket and its ground infrastructure,” said Renato Lafranconi, Vega programs manager, in a statement. “We’ve developed a new configuration with significant changes to many features of a proven concept, but the goal is to deliver major improvements in performance and competitiveness.”

How to watch the launch

Coverage of the launch begins at 6:45 a.m. ET (3:45 a.m. PT) on Wednesday, July 13. The livestream will be available on ESA Web TV, which you can watch here.

To get a feeling of what the launch process will consist of and what each step in the mission involves, ESA has created an animated preview of the flight showing the process from the rolling out of the rocket, through the liftoff, stage and fairing separations, and the deployment of first the LARES-2 satellite and then the six CubeSats. You can watch there here on YouTube.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
How to watch NASA’s first press conference on SpaceX Crew-9 return
SpaceX Crew-9 returns to Earth on Tuesday evening.

[This article has been updated to confirm the participants of the press conference]

NASA is about to give its first press conference just a couple of hours after Crew-9 returned from the space station in a nine-month mission that was only supposed to last eight days.

Read more
Watch SpaceX launch a relief crew for ‘stuck’ Starliner astronauts
At 7:03 p.m. EDT, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 14, 2025..

Four astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station (ISS). After several delays, the members of Crew-10 lifted off in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft using a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:03 p.m. ET on Saturday night. The crew includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

“Congratulations to our NASA and SpaceX teams on the 10th crew rotation mission under our commercial crew partnership. This milestone demonstrates NASA’s continued commitment to advancing American leadership in space and driving growth in our national space economy,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “Through these missions, we are laying the foundation for future exploration, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars. Our international crew will contribute to innovative science research and technology development, delivering benefits to all humanity.”

Read more
NASA reveals new launch plan for SpaceX’s Crew-10 — here’s how to watch
The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission.

[UPDATE: SpaceX and NASA scrubbed Wednesday's launch attempt due to a technical issue on the ground. The article below has been updated to include details on the new launch target.]

SpaceX and NASA called off the launch of Crew-10 to the space station on Wednesday evening. They're now targeting 7:03 p.m. ET on Friday, March 14, for the launch of Crew-10 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Read on for full details on how to watch a livestream of the event.

Read more