Vega space
Encyclopedia
VEGA Space Ltd is a Space company, based in Hertfordshire
, UK. Founded in 1978 by a small group of engineers at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt
, Germany
, VEGA now works with Space agencies, satellite operators and manufacturers around the world. It works with the European Space Agency
(ESA) and ESOC in Germany
, European Space Research and Technology Centre
(ESTEC) in Holland, ESA Centre for Earth Observation
(ESRIN) in Rome
, Italy
, and European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Madrid
, Spain
.
Since 1978, VEGA has worked on almost every ESA mission and many other European and international programmes, including Mars Express
, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)
for the International Space Station (ISS)
, the Eumetsat Polar System, and the Ground Segment Development for ADEN.
On 1 January 2011, VEGA Space Ltd, became a part of Telespazio
, the Rome
-based space systems services company. It was previously a part of Finmeccanica
, having been originally acquired in 2008 as VEGA Group PLC.
VEGA is an active member of UKspace, the trade association for Britain’s space industry, and is heavily involved with the International Space Innovation Centre based in Harwell
.
in Darmstadt
, Germany
, who bid for and won a contract to provide satellite operations support to ESA missions. Since then, VEGA has continued to provide support on the same contract, which has been re-tendered every five years. The company has grown and evolved significantly in the past 32 years, including the following milestones:
VEGA has developed several products to support these simulation solutions through the lifecycle, working together with ESA or as independent products. These include:
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, UK. Founded in 1978 by a small group of engineers at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, VEGA now works with Space agencies, satellite operators and manufacturers around the world. It works with the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
(ESA) and ESOC in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, European Space Research and Technology Centre
European Space Research and Technology Centre
The European Space Research and Technology Centre is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands....
(ESTEC) in Holland, ESA Centre for Earth Observation
ESA Centre for Earth Observation
The ESA Centre for Earth Observation located in Frascati, Italy, is one of the five specialised centres of the European Space Agency located across Europe...
(ESRIN) in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Since 1978, VEGA has worked on almost every ESA mission and many other European and international programmes, including Mars Express
Mars Express
Mars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency . The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was...
, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)
Automated Transfer Vehicle
The Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is an expendable, unmanned resupply spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency . ATVs are designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload and experiments...
for the International Space Station (ISS)
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
, the Eumetsat Polar System, and the Ground Segment Development for ADEN.
On 1 January 2011, VEGA Space Ltd, became a part of Telespazio
Telespazio
Telespazio is a space systems services company, based in Rome, Italy. Telespazio was founded in 1961; however the company as it exists today was formed on July 1 2005 with the merger of the original Telespazio with the space services division of Alcatel...
, the Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
-based space systems services company. It was previously a part of Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
, having been originally acquired in 2008 as VEGA Group PLC.
VEGA is an active member of UKspace, the trade association for Britain’s space industry, and is heavily involved with the International Space Innovation Centre based in Harwell
Harwell
Harwell may refer to:*Harwell, Nottinghamshire, England*Harwell, Oxfordshire, England, a village**RAF Harwell, a World War II RAF airfield, near Harwell village....
.
History
VEGA was established in 1978 by a small group of engineers at the European Space Operations CentreEuropean Space Operations Centre
The European Space Operations Centre is responsible for controlling ESA satellites and space probes. The centre is located in Darmstadt, Germany. It is Mission Control for most of the space projects of the ESA. Since its creation in 1967, the centre has operated 60 European space missions...
in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, who bid for and won a contract to provide satellite operations support to ESA missions. Since then, VEGA has continued to provide support on the same contract, which has been re-tendered every five years. The company has grown and evolved significantly in the past 32 years, including the following milestones:
- 1991 – VEGA formed its German subsidiary company, based in Darmstadt, the home of its two largest German-based customers, ESOC and EUMETSAT
- 1992 – VEGA floated on the London Stock ExchangeLondon Stock ExchangeThe London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
- 2004 – VEGA acquired Anite Systems GmbH (Darmstadt) – a specialist Space ground systems company
- 2008 – VEGA delisted as PLCPLC-Business:* Public limited company, a type of limited company whose shares may be sold to the public* Program length commercial, or infomercial* Product life cycle, the succession of stages a product goes through...
from London Stock ExchangeLondon Stock ExchangeThe London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
, following acquisition by FinmeccanicaFinmeccanicaFinmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy... - 2009 – VEGA’s parent in the FinmeccanicaFinmeccanicaFinmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
Group, SELEX Systems Integration Ltd, continues to trade in the Space domain under the name of VEGA - 2010 – VEGA Space Ltd formed as a subsidiary company of SELEX Systems Integration Ltd
- 2011 – Ownership of VEGA Space Ltd transferred within FinmeccanicaFinmeccanicaFinmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
to TelespazioTelespazioTelespazio is a space systems services company, based in Rome, Italy. Telespazio was founded in 1961; however the company as it exists today was formed on July 1 2005 with the merger of the original Telespazio with the space services division of Alcatel...
(a FinmeccanicaFinmeccanicaFinmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
/ ThalesThalesThales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Asia Minor, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition...
company) on 1 January 2011.
Programme and Procurement Support
Experienced programme managers, and technology and domain experts and teams are embedded into client organisations to develop and deliver improved organisational performance to generate higher operational value and lower integration risk. These teams provide the management support that enables clients to successfully transform strategy into measurable benefits.End-to-end Ground Systems
End-to-end ground segment systems capabilities range across all elements of ground systems including: Mission Control Systems, Satellite and Ground Station Planning Systems; Payload Data Systems; Ground Station System Engineering; and Communications and Network System Engineering. The company specialises in ground system concept and design; programme cost and risk analysis; integration, verification and validation; system deployment; and operations concepts.Simulation and Modelling
VEGA has developed many operational simulators and been instrumental in the development of ESA’s simulation infrastructure. Solutions developed include: Concept and design simulation; System and functional engineering simulation; Test bed engineering simulation; On-board software verification facilities; Operations and ground segment simulators.VEGA has developed several products to support these simulation solutions through the lifecycle, working together with ESA or as independent products. These include:
- SimVis – Concept and design simulation developed to work with Concurrent Design Facilities (CDF). Developed for ESA/ESTEC for mission and system design simulation within the ESTEC CDF.
- SIMSAT – ESA’s real-time simulation infrastructure – used mainly for development of high fidelity operational satellite simulators.
- SimsEmu – ESA’s processor emulator, providing high fidelity emulation of the ERC32 and 1750 on-board processors.
- EGSE-Lite – VEGA’s solutionSolutionIn chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
to support development, integration, verification and validation of space-based components with on-board software - via the use of processor emulation. - GSTVi – Ground Segment Test and Verification Infrastructure – ESA’s simulation suite to support plug and play testing of ground segment systems
- STC – the Spacecraft Operations Training Centre - VEGA’s training solution for spacecraft operations combining real-time satellite simulation with effective training courses.