Vega-C | Biomass
Launch information
Favourite EmbedMission description
Biomass is an European Space Agency mission designed to measure the density of carbon stored in the world's forests. The spacecraft, built by Airbus Defence and Space, features the first civilian P-band synthetic aperture radar as well as a 12m-diameter deployable reflector from L3Harris made of over 900 km of gold-coated molybdenum 25µm wire. With a minimum operational lifetime of 5 years in its 666km 6am/6pm sun-synchronous orbit, the global coverage achieved every 9 months allows to precisely monitor the evolution of forests over time.
Launch status
Launch status information for space mission ‘Vega-C | Biomass’.
Success
Status: Launch Successful
Class: normal
Launch T0: April 29, 2025, 9:15 a.m.
Timezone: America/Cayenne
Launch authority
Details about the the rocket, its target orbit and the launch pad location.
Mission |
Biomass (SSO) |
|---|---|
Launcher |
Arianespace |
Rocket |
Vega-C |
Location |
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana |
Pad |
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) |
Type |
Earth Science |
Orbit |
Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) |
Satellites on-board
Satellites on-board the space mission ‘Vega-C | Biomass’ are identified by cross checking database entries for launches and satellites. Results could be inaccurate from time to time.
Launch statistics
Tracking key statistics for space mission ‘Vega-C | Biomass’, classified in stats relative to the specific mission launch year or to all-time values.
Orbital Launch
#6941
To this date
Location Launch
#325
To this date
Pad Launch
#52
To this date
Agency Launch
#319
To this date
Orbital Launch
#92
Year 2025
Location Launch
#2
Year 2025
Pad Launch
#1
Year 2025
Agency Launch
#2
Year 2025
Latest news about the launch
News about the space mission ‘Vega-C | Biomass’ are fetched daily from the best sources online.
Biomass, an oversized football and the Australian outback
ESA’s forest mission Biomass will be supported by a custom-built transponder antenna installed in New Norcia, Australia.
Biomass completes a relay race of a LEOP
Mission control at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre has completed the critical Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) for ESA’s Biomass, after nine days of intense work.
Vega-C liftoff in slow-mo
ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
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