Vega flight VV16

Vega flight VV16, also called SSMS PoC Flight (for Small Spacecraft Mission Service Proof of Concept Flight), was the 16th launch of the Vega rocket. This first low Earth orbit rideshare commercial flight for 21 customers embarked a total of 65 satellites—53 satellites to be released by the launch vehicle directly plus an additional 12 that were later released by one of them—arranged in the modular SSMS dispenser. The launch was also notable as it was the first Vega launch following the accident of the VV15 launch in July 2019 that caused the loss of FalconEye1 satellite.