Debuting a two-tier structure designed to accommodate dozens of small satellites on a single mission, an Italian-made Vega rocket is set for liftoff Saturday night from the northeastern coast of South America on a flight to demonstrate European industry’s answer to growing rideshare launch demand.

Arianespace and Avio — the Vega launch service provider and the Vega prime contractor — hope the Small Spacecraft Mission Service, or SSMS, multi-satellite dispenser can be launched once per year if there’s enough demand from international satellite companies and European government agencies.

There are 53 satellites from 21 customers in 13 countries — including ESA member states and the United States — aboard the Vega rocket awaiting liftoff from the Guiana Space Center in South America at 9:51:10 p.m.

The seven largest satellites will separate from the rocket in that orbit between 40 and 53 minutes after liftoff.

The rideshare launch was supposed to occur last year, but a Vega rocket failed during a flight in July 2019.

Days before the Vega rocket’s return-to-flight launch date in March, Arianespace suspended launch preparations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Launch preparations resumed in May, and the mission was set to lift off June 18, but high winds have kept the rocket on the ground.

“This flight heralds a new era in rideshare opportunities for small satellites and shows our commitment to extending Europe’s access to space capabilities to serve European institutions, strengthen our space industry and grow our economy,” commented Renato Lafranconi, Vega exploitation program manager at ESA.

The first SSMS mission set for launch Saturday is a proof of concept flight to demonstrate the Vega rocket’s capability to deliver clusters of small satellites into orbit.

The mission’s payload of 53 satellites sets a record for the most spacecraft launched on a single European rocket.

The highest number of satellites launched on a single Vega rocket to date was nine spacecraft on the launch vehicle’s inaugural flight in 2012.

An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carried 104 small satellites into orbit in 2017, a record for the most spacecraft launched on one rocket.

The largest satellite ever built in Luxembourg is also hitching a ride into orbit on the Vega launch vehicle.

Satellogic plans to deploy a fleet of 90 microsatellites primarily using Chinese rockets. ÑuSat 6 will be Satellogic’s 11th satellite to launch, and the first to fly on a European rocket.

The Canadian-built spacecraft is the second to launch for GHGSat, which says the satellite will be capable of detecting methane emissions from specific sources, such as oil and gas wells.

The Seattle-based launch broker Spaceflight arranged for the launch of Swarm’s SpaceBEEs and 14 of Planet’s SuperDoves on the Vega mission.

SpacePharma, a Swiss-based company with a research lab in Israel, will launch its second CubeSat on the Vega rocket.

Kepler Communications, a Toronto-based company, plans to launch its third and final technology demonstration satellite on the Vega rocket.

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