Multi-satellite payloads are becoming more and more common, and Arianespace is fully engaged in launching such missions.
This photo series shows PerúSAT-1 being placed in the VESPA dispenser system for multi-satellite payloads carried by Vega (at left), followed by its encapsulation (center and right).
Photos are courtesy of Arianespace.
An example is the upcoming PerúSAT-1 launch, which has now been installed in the multi-payload dispenser system that will enable this spacecraft to be launched on Arianespace's upcoming Vega light-lift mission from French Guiana, along with a cluster of satellites for Terra Bella.The integration activity occurred in the Spaceport's S3B preparation facility, where PerúSAT-1 was installed inside the VESPA dispenser, readying it for positioning as the lower payload on Vega Flight VV07, scheduled for liftoff on September 15th.
VESPA is similar in function to the larger SYLDA dispenser on Ariane 5's heavy-lift launch vehicle. These systems enable multiple payloads to be assembled on a single launcher and orbited in sequence during a mission. For Flight VV07, the Terra Bella satellites will be released in the second phase of the mission's deployment sequence.
PerúSAT-1 was built by Airbus Defence and Space for Peru's CONIDA national space agency and is outfitted with a silicon carbide optical instrument system to image Earth at 70 cm resolution and will serve as the country's first Earth Observation satellite, with a liftoff mass of approximately 450 kg.