Next Vega C Launch Edges Closer to Christmas Day as Satellites Arrive Late

What happened

Italian rocket manufacturer Avio has revealed that delays in the delivery of customer satellites have pushed the third Vega C launch of 2026 back toward Christmas, several weeks later than previously planned. Speaking during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on 11 November, Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo explained that the mission, which will carry six satellites, had been delayed as the company awaited the arrival of the final spacecraft.

The flight is expected to carry six satellites for Italy’s IRIDE Earth observation constellation. According to photographs published by the French space agency CNES, a shipment of the Thales Alenia Space-built satellites arrived in French Guiana by air on 9 November 2026.

The latest setback is not the first time this year that Avio has blamed changes to its Vega C launch schedule on delays in the delivery of customer payloads. During the same 10 September earnings call, Ranzo explained that the company could have conducted more than three Vega C launches in 2026, adding that “one satellite was somewhat late.”

So far in 2026, Avio has completed two Vega C launches.

During the company’s half-year earnings call on 10 September, Ranzo said that the mission was scheduled for “the very beginning of December”. Based on his latest comments, the launch appears to have slipped by approximately two to three weeks.

The spacecraft were then transported from Félix Éboué Airport to the Guiana Space Centre, arriving at the facility’s S3B payload preparation building the following day. He qualified that outlook with a caveat, adding, “if the customers maintain their deadlines”.