Vega-C rocket lost shortly after lift-off in French Guiana

The European Vega-C rocket was lost shortly after lift-off from French Guiana on Tuesday with two Airbus satellites on board, the company behind the launch said, Report informs referring to AFP.

The rocket had been trying to bring into orbit two Earth observation satellites built by Airbus, intended to join an existing network capable of capturing high-quality images of any point on the globe several times a day.

If it had been successful, it would have been the first commercial launch of the rocket since its inaugural journey on July 13.

"The mission is lost," Stephane Israel, head of commercial launch service provider Arianespace, said from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana.

Ten minutes after liftoff, at 10:47 pm (01:47 GMT), the launcher's trajectory deviated from its programmed route and communications were lost, it said.

An "anomaly occurred" in the second stage of the launcher, "ending the Vega-C mission", the company said in a statement.

"Data analysis is under way to determine the reasons for this failure," it added.

Arianespace found there was no debris fallout after liftoff.

Originally scheduled for November 24, the flight was postponed for a month due to a faulty launch element.