FLEX and Sentinel-3C sit in a Vega-C fairing for a 15 September 03:21 CEST liftoff
ESA reported on 14 September that FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C have been encapsulated in a Vega-C fairing in French Guiana, with liftoff set for 15 September at 03:21 CEST. Spaceflight Now gives the same instant as 22:21 Kourou time, 01:21 UTC, and says Sentinel-3C deploys about an hour after liftoff and FLEX about an hour after that. This is a launch notice; there is no science data yet.
Science··Night
In the fairing, tonight's time is set
ESA reported on 14 September 2026 that FLEX, which will measure plant fluorescence, and Copernicus Sentinel-3C have been encapsulated in a Vega-C fairing in French Guiana, with liftoff set for 15 September at 03:21 CEST, 14 September at 22:21 local time. Two separate missions share the rocket: Sentinel-3C will deploy first, then FLEX from the Vespa+R adapter. FLEX is an ESA Earth Explorer; its Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer is to measure chlorophyll fluorescence from 814 km and is expected to make global maps at 300 m by 300 m. Sentinel-3C will continue the ocean, land, ice and atmosphere series of the two Sentinel-3 satellites already in orbit.[1]
VV30: 820 km, 116 minutes, 397 kg FLEX
Spaceflight Now reports flight VV30 lifts from Ensemble de Lancement Vega at 22:21 local time, 01:21 UTC, 03:21 CEST. Sentinel-3C, managed by EUMETSAT, is scheduled to leave the AVUM+ upper stage about an hour after liftoff; FLEX, managed by ESA, about an hour after that. The two spacecraft will be deployed to 820 km at 98.6 degrees inclination. It will take about 116 minutes to deploy both. FLEX weighs 397 kg and is the eighth Earth Explorer. The four-stage Vega-C stands 34.8 metres. This is the second Vega-C launch Avio is managing solely, the second of 2026 and the eighth overall.[2]
A launch notice, not a data release
ESA frames the change from the 11 September rehearsal report as the satellites now sitting in the fairing with tonight's launch time set. Spaceflight Now's live-coverage note likewise describes a countdown, not measurements from orbit. There is no science data from this flight yet in either account.[1], [2]
