The Case of the Missing Vega AVUM Propellant Tanks

Sun, 7 Jan 2024 03:41:45 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://europeanspaceflight.com/the-case-of-the-missing-vega-avum-propellant-tanks/>

"Two of the four tanks necessary to power the fourth stage of the final Vega
flight disappeared several months ago, leaving Avio scrambling to find an
alternate solution.

The Vega AVUM fourth stage stands at 1.74 meters tall with a diameter of 1.9
meters. The stage is equipped with the Ukrainian RD-869 UDMH/NTO liquid-fueled
engine. The propellant for the engine is stored across four spherical tanks.

A source talking to European Spaceflight revealed in early October that two
of the four propellant tanks for the final Vega flight had gone missing. Last
week, a second source independently verified the story."

Via Christoph S.

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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