On November 8, 2017 at 3:43   Kiev time (on November 7,  at 22:43  local time) from Kourou launch site in French Guiana, the light-class  Vega  launch vehicle with MOHAMMED VI-A Moroccan multi-purpose spacecraft was successfully launched.

The Vega launch vehicle was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) jointly with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to deliver into low Earth orbits the payloads with the mass from 300 to 1500 kg (depending on orbital parameters).

Yuzhnoye SDO developed and Yuzhmash manufactured the RD-843 main engine for the upper (fourth) stage of this rocket.

The reliable operation of Ukrainian RD-843 engine particularly contributed to the successful launch of the spacecraft.

For spacecraft injection into orbit, three burns of the fourth stage engine were required.

«Mohammed VI – A» – is a satellite built for Morocco by Thales Alenia Space consortium. It is intended for cartographic and geodesic works, natural disasters warning and monitoring, monitoring of natural environment changes and observation of the borders and coastal zone. The mass of the satellite is  1190 kg. This satellite became the heaviest injected by Vega LV for the entire period of LV operation. The satellite was injected into sun-synchronous orbit, it separated from the rocket 55 minutes after the launch.

This launch became the eleventh in the history of Vega LV operation from the time of the first launch in 2012 and already the third one in 2017.

Public Relations Center of Yuzhnoye SDO