Europe's Vega rocket has successfully completed its second mission.

BBC: Esa's Vega rocket puts Proba-V vegetation mission in orbit

Vega is the latest rocket to be developed by the European Space Agency (Esa).

BBC: Esa's Vega rocket puts Proba-V vegetation mission in orbit

Avio is the prime contractor for Vega, the new European rocket system designed to launch the small satellites that are expected to be the main driver of the aerospace industry.

CNN: Avio head: Europe risks becoming a 'half-baked cake'

Friday's launch was part of what Esa calls the Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment (Verta) programme - a sequence of flights intended to demonstrate the rocket's capabilities whilst at the same time moving it towards full commercial service.

BBC: Esa's Vega rocket puts Proba-V vegetation mission in orbit

Vega will take its place alongside its "big brother" at Kourou - the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket, and the new medium-lift "Europeanised" Soyuz rocket that has only recently started launching from the spaceport.

BBC: Vega rocket set for maiden voyage