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ЦитироватьFrench space minister calls for European rocket R&D effort, says SpaceX victory still TBD
by Peter B. de Selding (http://spacenews.com/author/peter-b-de-selding/) — June 1, 2016
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155632.jpg)French Research Minister Thierry Mandon said Europe's space research effort pales next to annual U.S. spending and needs to be better coordinated. He said it is far too early to declare SpaceX the victor in the race to next-generation rockets. Credit: Screen graph from BFM-TV
 
SINGAPORE – France's space minister on June 1 urged a redoubled European effort in space research, and specifically in next-generation rockets, in the face of what he said were increased investments by the United States and other major space powers.
Visiting the French and European space agencies' merged launcher directorate in Paris, Mandon rejected the idea that SpaceX of the United States already had too far an advance in its rocket-reusability program to be matched by Europe.
Asked if Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX's recent multiple successes in landing its Falcon 9 rocket's first stage constituted a decisive step forward in the race to the future, Mandon said:
"They have achieved multiple successes in recovery, which is only the beginning of the process. Now they've got the stages back – very good. The next challenge is: How do you use them again? I don't know if we're too late, or behind, but I do know we need to move forward and Promethee – Prometheus – is a good way to go about this."
What sometimes passes for French arrogance in translation is often an attempt by French officials to dispel fears – often expressed in the press here — that they are falling behind and that the game, in effect, is over.
This pervasive angst – not limited to Germany — after every SpaceX acrobatic display remains despite the examples in rocket history when today's losers – Europe in the 1970s compared to the United States debuting the space shuttle – end up as winners as the shuttle was withdrawn from the commercial market that Europe's Ariane came to dominate.
Mandon was referring to a reusable, liquid-oxygen, liquid-methane engine that France has been working on, called Promethee. France would like to Europeanize the effort, offering to subcontract major elements to Germany and other European partners in exchange for financial contributions.
Mandon's calling the propulsion system both Promethee, French for Prometheus, and Prometheus presages a French effort this December to persuade European Space Agency governments to fund the new propulsion system.
Jean-Marc Astorg, director of launchers at the French space agency, CNES, said during the Mandon briefing that 5-7 Prometheus engines could power the first stage of a future Ariane rocket, each costing 1 million euros ($1.13 million) apiece, compared to the 10-million-euro cost of the single Vulcain cryogenic engine that now powers the Ariane 5 first stage along with two solid-fueled strap-on boosters.
Vulcain is powered by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
The Ariane 6 rocket – designed to be one-half the cost of Ariane 5 – is on track to a 2020 launch. It will use a single Vulcain as well, with two or four solid-fueled boosters depending on mission requirements. Ariane 6's second stage is powered by the Vinci engine, which is also fueled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
Astorg has said in the past that one of the things he most admires about the SpaceX Falcon 9 is its design simplicity and specifically its use of a single motor design for the first stage, which uses nine of them, and the second stage, which uses one. That feature alone helps SpaceX reduce costs.
Astorg said France is seeking support in Germany and other European governments for a three-year R&D effort, budgeted at 125 million euros, which would culminate in a prototype engine ready to test in 2019.
Given worries in Europe that Ariane 6 may already be yesterday's story in the global market, Astorg stressed – as did Mandon and CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall during the briefing – that Prometheus is an R&D program in parallel to, and not in competition with, Ariane 6 and the companion Vega C enhanced small-satellite vehicle.
Astorg said additive manufacturing and other technology-design improvements could cut in half, to five years, rocket propulsion development work that a decade ago would have taken 10 years.
Astorg said CNES and other Prometheus program officials would need to spend considerable time studying how the way liquid methane works in a propulsion system.
David Quancard, director of operations at Airbus Safran Launchers, the prime contractor for Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 and the likely leader of a next-generation rocket effort, said 50 percent of the cost of a rocket propulsion system lies in its industrial procedures.
Reducing production cycles, which Airbus Safran Launchers is already doing with Ariane 6, would be key to future launchers' design as well, he said.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Mandon was referring to a reusable, liquid-oxygen, liquid-methane engine that France has been working on, called Promethee. France would like to Europeanize the effort, offering to subcontract major elements to Germany and other European partners in exchange for financial contributions.

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:
А это?

 http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/06/08/vega-engine-fired/

ЦитироватьLonger term, CNES has proposed to ESA a liquid oxygen/liquid methane engine called Prometheus, designed to cost one-tenth of the Ariane 5's Vulcain main-stage engine.
ESA Launcher Director Gaele Winters said the agency will propose to its governments in December a development program based on Prometheus.
CNES officials have said they are working with the German and Italian space agencies to craft a four-year, 125-million-euro Prometheus development that would end with a small demonstrator, called Callisto, in 2020.
 - See more at: http://spacenews.com/frances-cnes-backs-space-station-hedges-bets-on-reusable-rockets/#sthash.Fy7InAbF.dpuf

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/189036.jpg)
Crédits : CNES/H. Piraud.
Презентация будущего семейства ракетных двигателей Прометей Тьерри Mandon (в центре), государственный секретарь по вопросам высшего образования и научных исследований в CNES Launcher директората (DLA) в Париже.

ЦитироватьНосители: Франция призывает Европу готовиться к будущему двигателю
1 июня 2016

Европейская космонавтика ", чтобы подготовить будущее" с новым семейством двигателей Прометея по очень низкой цене, которая может быть использована для обычной или многоразовой ракеты, сообщил госсекретарь по научным исследованиям Тьерри Mandon.

"Мы должны выиграть игру приходя - развитие европейских ракет-носителей Ariane 6 и Vega  C - и подготовиться к следующему сезону в то же время," сказал г-н Mandon после обновления до французского космического агентства CNES с европейские игроки пусковых установок.

Столкнувшись с ростом бюджета США за пространство, "если Европа не ставит некоторую энергию в финансирование космических исследований (...) мы будем работать после того, как технологические прорывы" других, - добавил он.

Европейская космонавтика находится под давлением обострения международной конкуренции в пусковой установке.

Американская компания SpaceX имеет очень агрессивную стратегию по затратам и прогресс в направлении развития многоразовых ракет. На прошлой неделе ему удалось приземлить в четвертый раз первую ступень своей ракеты Falcon 9.

Подготовлено CNES и Airbus Safran Launcher (ASL), при поддержке со стороны немецкого космического агентства DLR, двигатель Прометея делает ставку на "нарушения" технологии.

Она будет работать на жидком кислороде и метане. Этот углеводород является "более интересным с точки зрения стоимости, чем водород" в настоящее время использумый с жидким кислородом на Vulcain двигателе Ariane 5 и первой ступени ракеты-носителя Ariane 6, объяснил Жан-Марк Astorg, директор ракет-носителей CNES.

Он будет в значительной степени производиться за счет 3D-печати.

"Этот двигатель, будет проще и в десять раз дешевле производить," сказал Дэвид Quancard, директор по операциям на ASL.

Prometheus будет разработан с самого начала для многоразового использования, но может использоваться и в обычных ракетах.

"Цель состоит в том, чтобы разработать прототип Прометея, который может быть испытан до 2020 года", сказал г-н Astorg.

Франция и Германия надеются на присоединение Италии в этом вопросе.

Стоимость прототипа составляет около 125 миллионов долларов.

Проект Prometheus будет рассмотрен Конференцией европейских министров пространства в Люцерне (Швейцария) в декабре.

«Целью данного проекта является снижение цен на будущие ракеты-носители," обычные ли,  или многоразового использования, сказал г-н Astorg.

Одновременно, Франция, Германия и Япония начали делать исследования на многоразовой первой ступении прототипа, по имени Каллисто.

Для того, чтобы быть запущен из Французской Гвианы, эта мини ракета десять метров высотой, которая будет оснащена японским двигателем,взлетити до ста километров над уровнем моря, перед спуском для посадки. Его промоутеры назначили 2020 год для первого пуска.

Проект Callisto на данном этапе стоит сто миллионов. Он также будет представлен на Конференции министров в Люцерне.

с AFP

Цитировать"Этот двигатель, будет проще и в десять раз дешевле производить," сказал Дэвид Quancard, директор по операциям на ASL.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Видимо развитие этого проекта:
 http://www.space.com/29620-airbus-adeline-reusable-rocket-space-tug.html

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Одновременно, Франция, Германия и Япония начали делать исследования на многоразовой первой ступении прототипа, по имени Каллисто.

Цитировать http://spacenews.com/frances-cnes-backs-space-station-hedges-bets-on-reusable-rockets/
....

Спойлер

Will the Ariane 6 rocket be competitive with SpaceX?
France is leading European governments' financing of the future Ariane 6 rocket, whose design goal is to be able to develop and launch a rocket for one-half the cost of the current Ariane 5. Ariane 6 is scheduled to make its inaugural flight in late 2020.
With principal competitor SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, developing a reusable Falcon 9 first stage and predicting substantial cost reductions, some in Europe – Le Gall included – have questioned whether Ariane 6 will not arrive too late.
"It's clear that if Ariane 6 were operating today it would be very competitive," Le Gall said. "The question is whether the price cuts you see in the market now – not only at [SpaceX] but in Russia with either new lower-cost rockets or established rockets redesigned for lower-cost operations – will continue."
Le Gall said it was not yet clear whether reusable launch vehicles would achieve their goal of further cutting launch costs. He suggested there was no urgency in developing a reusable rocket, and that the current state of Ariane 6 development has given designers more confidence that it will meet its design-to-cost goals.
"Today, given the objectives for Ariane 6, it seems the vehicle will be well-placed in the market. And if there is a further series of cost cuts in the market we'll evaluate that when we see it," Le Gall said.

[свернуть]

Longer term, CNES has proposed to ESA a liquid oxygen/liquid methane engine called Prometheus, designed to cost one-tenth of the Ariane 5's Vulcain main-stage engine.
ESA Launcher Director Gaele Winters said the agency will propose to its governments in December a development program based on Prometheus.
CNES officials have said they are working with the German and Italian space agencies to craft a four-year, 125-million-euro Prometheus development that would end with a small demonstrator, called Callisto, in 2020.

Спойлер

For Ariane 6, CNES on July 8 signed a contract valued at 200 million euros with an industrial consortium led by France's Eiffage construction and engineering company for the Ariane 6 launch site's buildings.
The site is at Europe's Guiana Space Center spaceport on the northeast coast of South America next to existing Ariane 5, Soyuz and small-satellite-launch Vega facilities.
The Eiffage-led consortium, called Eclair6, includes Eiffage's Clemessy, SHE of Germany, Axima of France and ICOP of Italy.
The consortium has committed to completing by October 2018 the Ariane 6 launch pad and its two flame trenches, and the 90-meter-high, 6-million-kilogram mobile service gantry and the launcher assembly building.
CNES is under a 600-million-euro contract with ESA for the entire Ariane 6 launch installation. Jean-Marc Astorg, CNES's director of launchers, said the remaining 400 million euros would be spent on the Ariane 6 launch pad and the site's mechanical, electrical and fluid installations.
....

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьДля того, чтобы быть запущен из Французской Гвианы, эта мини ракета десять метров высотой, которая будет оснащена японским двигателем,взлетити до ста километров над уровнем моря, перед спуском для посадки. Его промоутеры назначили 2020 год для первого пуска.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
http://www.voaafrique.com/a/lanceurs-la-france-appelle-l-europe-a-preparer-le-moteur-du-futur-/3357791.html

ЦитироватьНосители: Франция призывает Европу готовиться к будущему двигателю
1 июня 2016

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125969.jpg)
PROMETHEE (Precursor Reusable Oxygen METHane cost Effective Engine), moteur à cycle générateur de gaz de poussée 100 T LOX/Méthane, sera une évolution vers des systèmes de lancements européens à très bas coût. L'objectif est d'avoir un lanceur qui coûtera à terme deux fois moins qu'Ariane 6 avec des technologies du XXIe siècle. Les premiers essais à feu au banc du moteur PROMETHEE sont envisagés en 2018.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Метановый движок открытой схемы - мечта Плейшнера.

Цитироватьsilentpom пишет:
не понимаю - зачем нужен реюзабл и дешевый одновременно? не вижу смысла  :(

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes)  2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/794576553703309312)  
CNES's Le Gall today on French priorities for Dec Euro ministerial conf, inc $ for CSG spaceport. Notable: Zero mention of ISS ops funding.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/159036.jpg)

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185524.jpg) Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  (https://twitter.com/pbdes) 3 мин.3 минуты назад (https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/804688669735063552)
ESA launcher director Neuenschwander: We wanted EUR 100M for reusable LOX/methane engine, we got EUR 83. So program can start.#ESACM16 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/ESACM16?src=hash)

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
https://ariane.cnes.fr/fr/moteur-promethee-une-evolution-vers-des-systemes-de-lancements-europeens-tres-bas-cout

ЦитироватьPROMETHEE (Precursor Reusable Oxygen METHane cost Effective Engine),

Цитировать20 апреля 2016
Двигатель ПРОМЕТЕЙ, эволюция в сторону европейских систем запуска по очень низкой цене
С двигателем ПРОМЕТЕЙ, CNES и Airbus Safran Пусковые подготовки европейских систем запуска при очень низких затратах.

С момента своего создания, Ariane 5 пусковая замечательный успех. На сегодняшний день в европейской ракеты-носителя завершила серию последовательных 71 успешных запусков.

К 2020 году Ariane 6 продолжит этот успех, особенно на фоне значительного появления новых игроков в области космических транспортных систем и по более низкой цене в два раза Ariane 5.

В самом деле, питание от новых инвесторов и распространение инновационных приложений, среда космический сектор меняется, обе стороны спутника или ракеты предложением услуг, предлагаемых новых игроков. Все указывает на то, что эти новые операторы будут продолжать свои усилия по снижению стоимости доступа к пространству для 2025/2035 горизонта.
Для конкурентной пусковой установки за Ariane 6

Так что Европа может продолжать иметь, в долгосрочной перспективе, конкурентоспособного пусковая за Ariane 6, CNES в партнерстве с Airbus Safran Launchers, готовит разработку новых двигателей, которые снижают снова издержки производства и увеличить скорость запуска. "Мы считаем, что мы должны работать на новом движке, который может повторно использоваться, но, помимо этого, нам нужно гораздо дешевле, чем те, двигатель в настоящее время используется, стоимость будет снижена в 10 раз, что это ли не многоразовый двигатель, "объяснил Жан-Марк Astorg, КНЕС директор пусковые в феврале-марте 2016 года выпуске Aviation Week и космической техники.

ПРОМЕТЕЙ (Предшественник многоразовый стоимость кислорода метана Эффективная двигателя), тяги цикла генератор газовый двигатель 100 T LOX / Метан является шагом в направлении европейских систем запуска при очень низких затратах. Цель состоит в том, чтобы иметь кувшин, который будет стоить в два раза меньше Ariane 6 вперед с двадцать первого века технологии. Первые огневые испытания на скамейке двигателя PROMETHEE планируется в 2018 году.

Проводимые исследования, проведенные совместно с ASL и Пусковые дирекции CNES, помогли определить технологические решения, которые отвечают очень низкой стоимости целей этого двигателя. Параллельно с этим, прототипирования деталей уже начато.

Через ПРОМЕТЕЙ, цель состоит в том, чтобы также сократить время разработки двигателя за счет использования в том числе и новейшие технологии в области 3D-печати.

ЦитироватьFrance's Prometheus reusable engine becomes ESA project, gets funding boost
by Caleb Henry (http://spacenews.com/author/caleb-henry/) — February 1, 2017
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155675.jpg)
ESA is upping investment in reusable launcher tech so that European industry can one day build reusable rockets if it wants to. Credit: CNES
 
WASHINGTON — A French reusable rocket engine program is getting a boost from the European Space Agency, which is ready to sign a contract with Airbus Safran Launchers that would lead to an engine test three years from now.
A small team of engineers from Airbus Safran Launchers and the French space agency CNES have poured a few million euros since 2015 into a liquid oxygen and-methane-fueled reusable engine dubbed Prometheus. ESA leaders agreed during December's ministerial conference in Lucerne, Switzerland, to make Prometheus part of the agency's Future Launchers Preparatory Program, or FLPP.
In an interview with SpaceNews, Airbus Safran Launchers CEO Alain Charmeau said FLPP is allocating 85 million euros ($91 million) to Prometheus to fund research and development leading to a 2020 test firing. Now that Prometheus is an ESA program, Charmeau expects more countries will get involved.
"ESA will pay the contract to Airbus Safran Launchers and then Airbus Safran Launchers will cooperate with European industry, of course France and Germany, but we will have also contributions from Italy, Belgium, Sweden and probably a couple of others to a smaller extent," Charmeau said.
Europe has been reticent to jump into reusability. Both of its next-generation launchers — Ariane 6 and Vega C  — will be expendable. Airbus Safran Launchers, ESA's prime contractor for the Ariane 6, has said the European market does not ensure enough launches to make reusability a profitable pursuit. Charmeau said the Prometheus work ESA has agreed to fund will evaluate the feasibility of developing a reusable engine with drastically lower cost.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155678.jpg) (http://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Prometheus-Engine-Jpeg.jpg)
Digital rendering of Europe's proposed reusable rocket engine, Prometheus. Credit: Airbus Safran Launchers

Спойлер

"If we have this answer by 2020, then we can work on the evolution of launchers either for reusability or not depending on the size of the market," he said.
The target price for a Prometheus engine is 1 million euros, one-tenth the cost of the Ariane 6's liquid-oxygen and liquid-hydrogen Vulcain 2.1 engine. The Prometheus program is making extensive use of new technologies and production methods, including 3-D printing, and a large amount of technical design work already completed in France and Germany, according to an Airbus Safran Launchers presentation.
Charmeau said the market dynamics that have dissuaded the company from reusability in the past are still the same, but the company wants to lay the foundation for long-term launcher development.
"We are preparing the market for 2030. Today we do not have in Europe an engine which has the capability to be reused for the main stage of the launcher. Until we have this engine, it is very difficult to design what could be a new launcher," he said.
During December's ministerial, ESA members committed 206.8 million euros to FLPP. Startup PLD Space of Spain, another member of the FLPP program, received 750,000 euros from ESA in November to study liquid-propulsion stage recovery for a small satellite launcher.
Airbus Defence and Space's reusable first-stage engine concept, the Advanced Expendable Launcher with Innovative engine Economy, or Adeline, is a separate project from Prometheus, Charmeau said, but could combined with the liquid-propulsion system. Adeline proposes returning an Ariane first-stage engine by flying it back with deployable wings and landing on a runway.
"Prometheus might fit very well with this kind of reusable launcher concept," Charmeau said.

[свернуть]

Цитироватьsilentpom пишет:
не понимаю - зачем нужен реюзабл и дешевый одновременно? не вижу смысла  :(

Цитировать (https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/743733996937351168/_0eoxr0C_bigger.jpg) Airbus Safran Lnchrs‏Подлинная учетная запись @ASLaunchers (https://twitter.com/ASLaunchers)
 Discover Prometheus: the next-generation reusable rocket engine.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155914.jpg)
https://twitter.com/i/videos/842036194259136512?embed_source=facebook

ЦитироватьThe future of space transport: Will large satellite networks change our way into space?
12 April 2017
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/224144.jpg)
 

[/li]
• On 11 and 12 April 2017, within the framework of the 5th Industrial Days, leading space travel representatives met at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) site in Lampoldshausen.
• Approximately 100 experts from space agencies, industry and science exchanged views on the future of European space transport.
• This year's focus is on current and future developments in the field of LOX / methane technology.
  

The importance of global networks for the aerospace sector has grown enormously. Increasingly widespread digitalisation and the spiralling volume of data generated are redefining the requirements for the space sector. Plans for a long-term expansion of large satellite networks as the basis for a global communication system are becoming more and more apparent. In future, the operation and use of satellite networks in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) will enable a broad range of uses, such as Earth observation or disaster management. Are our launch vehicles ideally suited for building these new satellite infrastructures? And what are the requirements and technical consequences for European launcher systems? Senior representatives from space agencies, industry and science gathered at the Lampoldshausen site of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) from 11– 12 April 2017 for the 5th Industrial Days to discuss the future of European space transport.

Rethinking space
The European launchers, Ariane, Vega and Soyuz, are among the most reliable systems on the global market. But digitalisation and networking are increasingly changing the way in which space is used – and these changes are already noticeable in the area of space transport. "Now, more than ever before, it is essential to take a critical look at the underlying principle behind our proven launcher systems. The innovative, core principle is individual space transport that is designed to better preserve resources," said Pascale Ehrenfreund, Chair of the DLR Executive Board, summarising the transformation precipitated by a digital world, adding: "The launchers of the future require a greater focus on market-oriented objectives: they must include innovation from other industries, be application - and customer oriented, as well as rapidly available."

The road to Ariane 6 and beyond
Competitive and reliable, high-performance and flexible – these adjectives best describe the Ariane launcher family that will now be expanded accordingly with the addition of Ariane 6. Airbus Safran Launchers (https://www.airbusafran-launchers.com/), prime industrial contractor for the Ariane 6 programme, has now reached the key milestones: firstly, technical maturity of the launcher system has been confirmed, and secondly, the European Space Agency (ESA) (http://m.esa.int/ESA) has now signed an addendum to the original Ariane 6 contract, releasing the necessary funds to complete development and industrialisation. The reduction in actual costs for launching without restricting the launcher's reliability is of particular significance in this respect. Moreover, performance and cost-efficiency of Ariane 5 will be further improved as a means of prevailing in an increasingly competitive market. Starting in 2023, Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch up to 12 times per year and replace the current Ariane 5 system.
The main actors within the European aerospace sector have their eyes firmly fixed on the commissioning of Ariane 6. Moreover, Europe is already actively preparing a future launcher system: the French space agency (CNES) (https://cnes.fr/en), Airbus Safran Launchers and DLR are collaborating within the Prometheus Project to develop a cost-efficient, high-thrust and reusable rocket engine powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and methane. Numerous projects around the world have investigated the use of methane as a rocket fuel for decades. But so far the LOX/methane propulsion system has not been used in any real launcher. Since the 2016 ESA Council at Ministerial Level, the committee that oversees European space policies, however, the research and technology development of the Prometheus project have been included in the ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP).

Research for the adoption of new technologies
A fuel combination comprising methane and liquid oxygen has an auspicious role to play in the development of new liquid rocket fuels for space. The potential options of methane extend from adding it to the current liquid fuel engines used in the Ariane launchers, to a complete replacement of liquid hydrogen. DLR engineers in the Prometheus project are now working on developing the LOX/methane technology as quickly as possible for use within the European space programme. The targets are clearly defined: Airbus Safran Launchers and the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion (http://www.dlr.de/ra/en/desktopdefault.aspx) entered into an alliance in 2016 to drive rapid progress in LOX/methane technology. While the engineers at Airbus Safran Launchers designed and built a promising technology demonstrator, the DLR engineers adapted the P3 test rig to suit these entirely new conditions, especially with regards to the fuel supply. The project partners then conducted a 12-month test campaign that yielded important findings for the continued development of necessary, critical technologies such as the combustion chamber. "Our test campaign has paved the way for the development of innovative LOX/methane technology," explained Gerald Hagemann, Head of Liquid Propulsion Engineering at Airbus Safran Launchers. Upon completion of a test campaign with Vulcain 2.1 – the main stage engine of the Ariane 6 rocket – the aim is to run tests on a LOX/methane technology demonstrator with 100 tons of thrust under representative conditions on the P5 test rig at the DLR Test Centre for Rocket Propulsion Systems in Lampoldshausen. This LOX/methane engine has the potential to reduce the costs of the Vulcain main stage propulsion system, developed by Europe in the 1980s, by a factor of 10.

DLR Lampoldshausen Test centre – Backbone of European space transport
"DLR Lampoldshausen contributes its unique expertise as a European test and development site for all liquid space propulsion systems to the research into LOX/methane technology," emphasised Stefan Schlechtriem, Director of the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion. The ground-breaking expansion and research activities are decisive to Lampoldshausen remaining the European test centre for all liquid space propulsion systems within the current alliances, also beyond the development of the Ariane 6 rocket. "In addition to operation of the test rigs, our future at DLR Lampoldshausen will lie in providing system competency," added Schlechtriem. For example, the research objectives in the new DLR project LUMEN are to be expanded from the component level to the system level of an entire propulsion system. The LUMEN project involves the development of a pump-operated LOX/methane engine, which will then be transferred to the European research and technology P8 test rig for downstream testing. "Together with our project partners at Airbus Safran Launchers and CNES, we are acquiring data that we can make available to the engine developers at an early stage," said Schlechtriem to explain the expansion of research activities. And the goals are no less ambitious for the operation of major test rigs: "We are preparing a concept for efficient and optimised use of the test rigs, which will employ digitalisation and technologies already used in Industry 4.0. Aspects such as flexibility, fuel supply, data processing, quality and occupational safety are the main considerations in this respect. Here, long-term success will be predicated on the capability to respond quickly to change," Schlechtriem added.

DLR in Lampoldshausen for over 55 years
DLR operates unique test rigs and systems to test rocket engines at its site in Lampoldshausen. These facilities are of crucial importance for European aerospace. They cover the entire portfolio of test requirements – from component and engine tests, to the testing of entire rocket stages. The test site is used for research and development experiments, as well as for conducting qualification and characterisation tests.
The test rigs simulate the rocket in order to provide the greatest possible similarity to actual in-flight conditions during testing. Suitable interfaces supply the engines with all fuels and fluids in stages. The test systems measure the data, and control, regulate and monitor the test objects during ongoing operations. The test rigs can also create specific environmental conditions as required. Satellites and upper stage engines are tested in a vacuum during the so-called altitude simulation. The extremely hot and fast-moving engine exhaust fumes are directly extracted and discharged in a controlled manner via a specially-designed system to ensure that the engine itself can be operated continuously in a simulated space environment.
Research is conducted on a variety of scales, ranging from laboratory combustion chamber investigations to tests under conditions that can be considered representative for stage propulsion systems like Vulcain 2.1 and Vinci. This is made possible by the infrastructure at the site – the only one of its kind in Europe – and the available expertise in designing and testing research combustion chambers. "New technologies can therefore be verified under representative conditions," explains Schlechtriem. "Our research and test activities hence make a decisive contribution to the future of European space transport."

Цитироватьvlad7308 пишет:

Цитироватьsilentpom

пишет:
не понимаю - зачем нужен реюзабл и дешевый одновременно? не вижу смысла

нуууу...
тут наверняка несколько факторов
1. дешево - это лучше чем дорого
2. будет или не будет реюзабл РН - неизвестно
 

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29242.jpg)  DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace (https://twitter.com/DutchSpace)  5 ч.5 часов назад (https://twitter.com/DutchSpace/status/877830981499052033)  
3D image of #Prometheus (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Prometheus?src=hash) a low cost liquid oxygen–methane engine being developed by @ArianeGroup (https://twitter.com/ArianeGroup) @SAFRAN (https://twitter.com/SAFRAN) @AirbusSpace (https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace) for future launchers
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/163295.jpg)

ЦитироватьESA kickstarts Prometheus reusable engine with first funding tranche
by Caleb Henry (http://spacenews.com/author/caleb-henry/) — June 22, 2017
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155721.jpg)
ESA is funding Prometheus, a reusable engine program for future launchers. The image above shows the Vulcan 2 engine used for the Ariane 5 first stage. Credit: Philippe Stroppa / Safran  
 
WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency began funding a reusable rocket engine anticipated to be ready for a test-fire demonstration in 2020, the same year as the first launch of the future Ariane 6 rocket.
ESA and Airbus Safran Launchers, the 50-50 joint venture between Airbus and Safran that is rebranding as ArianeGroup, signed a contract to develop Prometheus, a liquid- oxygen-and-methane-fueled engine that would cost 1 million euros ($1.1 million) per copy, or a tenth of what Ariane 5's Vulcain 2 first-stage engine costs to produce. ArianeGroup is working on Prometheus in parallel with development of Ariane 6, which will initially rely on the expendable Vulcain 2.1 engine.
Prometheus, which started out as a small, joint research initiative between the French space agency CNES and Airbus Safran Launchers, was adopted by ESA in December. ESA foresees the engine entering service around 2030 on future European launch vehicles, not necessarily Ariane 6.
"This signing underlines our determination to prepare now for the future of Europe's launchers beyond 2030, while pulling out all the stops to ensure an Ariane 6 first flight in 2020," Alain Charmeau, CEO of ArianeGroup, said in a June 22 statement. "Those two approaches based on continuous competitiveness and innovations are perfectly complementary."
ESA allocated more than 80 million euros to Prometheus at its December 2016 ministerial conference. The agency did not disclose how much of that money it released with the signing of today's contract.
Now that it's an ESA program, Prometheus will see additional industrial partners join ArianeGroup in developing the engine. New partners include Italy-based Avio, manufacturer of the Vega rocket; GKN, a Swedish supplier for Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 components; and Safran' Belgian subsidiary Safran AeroBooster. The companies intend to leverage new manufacturing methods such as 3D printing, predictive maintenance and digital control, and to test the engine at the German space agency DLR's Lampoldhausen engine test facility.

ЦитироватьCalapine пишет:
A further (small) preview of Prometheus from EUCASS 2017.

Source is http://www.forum-conquete-spatiale.fr/

As for the abbreviations:

ALM = Additive Layer Manufacturing
HMS = Health Monitoring System (?)
 (https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/72685) (https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/72687) (https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/72686)

ЦитироватьArianegroup to Develop ESA's Future Prometheus Engine    
       
By Kendall Russell (http://www.satellitetoday.com/author/kendall-russell/) | June 23, 2017 |
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/102014.jpg)
The Prometheus engine. Photo: ESA.
 
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus Safran Launchers, the 50/50 joint-venture set up by the Airbus and Safran groups, which will become ArianeGroup on July 1, signed the first tranche of the development contract for the future Prometheus LOx-methane engine at the Paris Air Show. Prometheus is a demonstrator running on Liquid Oxygen (LOx) and methane for a reusable engine. Applications deriving from it will be able to equip future European launchers as of 2030.
The Prometheus project began in November 2015, with partnership investments between the French Space Agency (CNES) and ArianeGroup, but took on a truly European dimension in December 2016, at the last ESA ministerial level conference in Lucerne, Switzerland. Prometheus was then allocated a budget of more than 80 million euros ($89.5 million).
The contract signed today also marked the addition of European industrial partners to the Prometheus demonstrator project, including Avio from Italy, GKN from Sweden, Safran AeroBooster from Belgium, and the German and French entities of ArianeGroup. The first tests are scheduled for 2020 in Lampoldhausen, Germany, on the site of the German aerospace agency (DLR)

ЦитироватьPrometheus, ASL's future rocket engine                   
 by Marcin Wolny (https://www.techforspace.com/author/marcinw/) | 07 February 2017 | European Space Sector (https://www.techforspace.com/category/european-space-sector/)
                
CNES and Airbus-Safran Launchers are working on a next generation of the main stage rocket engines, promising reduction of costs by 1/10th and a reusability for over 5 times.
During the ESA's Ministerial Conference in December 2014 design of Ariane 6 was sel ected. Based on a cryogenic main stage with 2 or 4 solid rocket boosters proposal also included a simplified, cheaper version of the cryogenic engine used in the main stage of Ariane 5 – Vulcain 2. New variant, dubbed Vulcain 2.1, while maintaining 1340 kN thrust of its predecessor, will include numerous new technologies in order to reduce production costs, notably a new nozzle extension that will utilize laser-welded sandwich walls and a 3D printed structural reinforcements. Future updates for Vulcain include version 2.2, development of which is currently in an early stages, and almost fully 3D-printed Vulcain 2.3 that's planned once work on Vulcain 2.2 is completed. All these variants will most likely be used in future upgrades to the Ariane 6.                   
                
However, it's no time to rest on laurels. In 2015 French space agency (CNES) and a newly established joint venture Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), thinking ahead, initiated development of the Prometheus (Prométhée). A brand new rocket engine with over a 1000 kN of thrust, that will bring 3 big things to the table: radical decrease of manufacturing costs, reusability and a new fuel.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/218870.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/218870.jpg)    
                                       
                 Costs
Design of Prometheus is planned to make an extensive use of additive manufacturing (3D printing). Current aim is to reduce the price 10-fold, from €10 million for Vulcain 2 down to €1 million for Prometheus. Simplified engine design and a use of new techniques will also allow ASL to decrease the manufacturing time by 50%. Safran Engines plant in Vernon (France) already begun production of prototype 3D printed components for the engine.
 

Such a dramatic decrease of the price would enable ASL to profit from investments in the new engine regardless if reusability is proven to significantly reduce costs or not.

                                      
                 Reusability
Prometheus will be the first reusable European rocket engine of its class, designed for a minimum of 5 reuses, however more than 10 reuses are being mentioned by CNES.
Several companies around the globe are already developing reusable launch vehicles. Airbus proposed ADELINE (https://www.techforspace.com/european-space-sector/prometheus-asls-future-rocket-engine/european-space-sector/europe-space-2015-review/#Ariane6), which could utilize Prometheus. It could also be used in a possible future rocket capable of vertical landing: a 15-meter tall testbed for it is being developed within joint French-German-Japanese (CNES-DLR-JAXA) project called Callisto. Currently, however, there are no plans to use Prometheus in any actively developed rocket.
                                       
                 Fuel
Current Ariane main stage engine, Vulcain, is propelled by the mix of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2), with new engine this mix will be replaced by LOX and liquid methane (LCH4). Liquid methane was never used in a launch vehicle, however currently several companies are developing methane-based engines for future rockets. Using Methane in place of liquid hydrogen has few notable advantages:
 

[/li]
• It's easier to store – while hydrogen needs to be kept in temperatures below -252 °C (20 K), for methane it's -161 °C (112 K), which is enough to keep it liquid inside of the rocket without any special thermal protection. It also makes a industrial processing and storage of the fuel cheaper.
• Its boiling point is closer to the one of liquid oxygen (-183 °C (90 K)), which allows for simpler rocket design, with less thermal protection between fuel and oxidizer.
• LOX+LH2 has a lower bulk density than LOX+LCH4 (290 kg/m3 vs 820 kg/m3), what means smaller and lighter fuel tanks, feed lines, even turbopumps.
• Hydrogen embrittlement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_embrittlement) isn't a problem, which makes the engine and various other components of a rocket (notably fuel tanks) much more suitable for reusability.
• It doesn't heat up (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule%E2%80%93Thomson_effect) upon expansion and doesn't explode in contact with oxygen, so it's less prone to explosions, again: simplifying the design.
• It's not building up the pressure in as high rate as LH does (expansion ratio of 233 vs 851) and doesn't require topping the rocket with fuel till the very last moment before the launch – which means cheaper ground operations and lower risks.
  

However it comes with one notable disadvantage:
 

[/li]
• Liquid Hydrogen offers higher performance (Isp (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_impulse) above 300s, while LH2 offers Isp exceeding 400s)
  

                Schedule
Development of the Prometheus has begun in 2015, with contract between CNES and ASL signed on November. During the ESA's Ministerial Conference in 2016 both parties presented a proposal for ESA to join the development. ESA decided to fund the project with additional €82 million from Future Launcher Preparatory Programme (FLPP).
Looking into the future, the first tests of Prometheus are planned for 2020, which is also the year Ariane 6 will fly. Next generation of launchers is planned for around 2030, which should give it an abundance of time for any possible delays. Looking so far ahead is not an unusual situation in the industry. Designing and qualifying rocket engines is a very time-consuming process. Design of Blue Origin's BE-4 begun in 2011 and it took 5 years till for testing to begin. So it did in a case of SpaceX Raptor, starting 1/3 scale prototype testing last year.
                                       
                 Ariane Next

During the Journée de l'innovation 2017 in Toulouse an additional information about the developments in CNES were released. Under codename Ariane Next the team of 15 engineers lead by Jérôme Vila is pursuing a successor to the Ariane 6. An objective of the new design is to reduce launch cost by half comparing to Ariane 6. It will be designed to carry both: commercial and institutional payloads and its design will be flexible enough to allow for rapid increase in a number of rockets manufactured when market demand from mega-constellations increases, or remain profitable if the number of launches remains relatively low. Due to new players coming into the market, such as Blue Origin, development cycle of the next Ariane is planned to be accelerated, fr om 10 years down to 5.

Future for European heavy launch vehicles certainly looks interesting, and Prometheus will become an integral part of it.

Цитировать

Due to new players coming into the market, such as Blue Origin, development cycle of the next Ariane is planned to be accelerated, fr om 10 years down to 5.

ЦитироватьГость 22 пишет:

ЦитироватьAn ultra-low cost reusable rocket engine, Prometheus, using liquid oxygen–methane propellants, is set to power Europe's future launchers.

Today (14.12.2017), ESA and ArianeGroup signed a contract to develop a full-scale demonstrator to be ground tested in November 2020.  
Prometheus demonstrates the systematic application of an extreme design-to-cost approach, new propellant and innovative manufacturing technologies.
 It lowers costs to a tenth of those for Ariane 5's Vulcain 2 engine.
 Additive layer-by-layer manufacturing of engine parts enables faster production, with fewer parts.
 Key characteristics of Prometheus include a computer system enabling realtime adjustment and immediate diagnosis for potential reusability.
 Methane propellant is widely available and brings high efficiency, standardisation and operational simplicity, making it a perfect candidate for a reusable booster engine demonstration.  
By 2020, technical knowledge of liquid oxygen–methane propulsion gained through the Prometheus project will allow fast and informed decisions to be made on useful applications.  
Prometheus provides a nominal 1 MN of variable thrust, is suitable for first- and second-stage applications, and is reignitable. It will propel a range of next-generation launchers, including future evolutions of Ariane 6.
 The Prometheus contract, worth €75 million, was signed by ESA Director of Space Transportation, Daniel Neuenschwander, and Alain Charmeau, CEO at ArianeGroup, at ESA headquarters in Paris in the presence of ESA Director General Jan Wörner.  
The project is part of ESA's Future Launchers Preparatory Programme.  
"Prometheus will power Europe's future launchers, forging a path of continuous improvement in competitiveness," commented Mr Neuenschwander.
 "This contract paves the way for the future of Europe's space transportation, and the development of European propulsion technology of tomorrow," added Mr Charmeau.  
The project benefits from significant synergies with other launcher demonstration projects within ESA, national agencies and industry.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Transportation/Prometheus_to_power_future_launchers

ЦитироватьArianeGroup supplier GKN to 3D print turbines for reusable Prometheus engines
by Caleb Henry (https://spacenews.com/author/caleb-henry/) — September 4, 2018

WASHINGTON — European rocket builder ArianeGroup, the company leading development and production of the Ariane 5 and upcoming Ariane 6 rockets, on Sept. 4 awarded a contract to a Swedish supplier for a reusable engine program.
GKN Aerospace's space business unit in Trollhättan, Sweden, will build two turbines for Prometheus, a reusable liquid-oxygen-and-methane engine projected to cost $1 million per unit — one-tenth the cost of Ariane 5's Vulcain 2 first-stage engine.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/191524.jpg) (https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Prometheus-Engine-Jpeg.jpg)
Digital rendering of Europe's proposed reusable rocket engine, Prometheus. Credit: ArianeGroup

GKN, which has participated in Ariane launch programs since 1974, will supply components for the first and second stage engines of the expendable Ariane 6 rocket slated to debut in 2020. For Prometheus, the company said it will use 3D printing to reduce the number of turbine parts from over 100 to two, helping lower costs while enabling the engine to meet high temperature, pressure and velocity criteria.
Prometheus is one of a growing number of engines being designed to use methane. SpaceX's Big Falcon Rocket calls for 31 methane-fueled Raptor engines for the reusable booster and seven more for the reusable spacecraft.
The BE-4 engines Blue Origin is making to power its New Glenn orbital rocket also burn methane, as does Zhuque-2, a Chinese rocket that startup Landspace envisions launching in 2020.
Prometheus isn't expected to see use until 2030, though ArianeGroup has said in the past the engine could be used on the expendable Ariane 6.
The European Space Agency signed a 75 million euro ($86.7 million) contract with ArianeGroup in December for the first two Prometheus prototypes. The agency said then that knowledge of liquid-oxygen-and-methane propulsion systems from Prometheus "will allow fast and informed decisions to be made on useful applications" by 2020.
Prometheus can power the first and second stages of a rocket, and "will propel a range of next-generation launchers, including future evolutions of Ariane 6," ESA said.

Цитировать04 09 2018 Aerospace             
GKN Aerospace wins contract from ArianeGroup for ground-breaking additively manufactured rocket engine turbines

[/li]
• Development and manufacturing contract for turbines of re-usable rocket engine demonstrator, part of Prometheus project
• 90% cost reduction, number of parts to be reduced from more than 100 to 2 thanks to cutting-edge AM technology
• First additively manufactured rocket engine turbines in Europe
  

GKN Aerospace will develop and manufacture two full-scale turbines for the Prometheus (https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Transportation/Prometheus_to_power_future_launchers)* low-cost re-usable rocket engine demonstrator on liquid oxygen and methane propellants. The turbines will generate power for the methane fuel system, with the first turbine to be delivered at the end of 2019. Manufacturing will take place in cooperation with partners and at GKN Aerospace's highly automated engine systems centre of excellence in Trollhättan, Sweden.
The new state of the art turbine with all its challenging loads - including very high pressure, high speed and high temperatures - incorporates the latest additive manufacturing (AM) technologies with higher performance, lower lead times and significant cost reduction. This innovative development will support the next step in AM: the use of this technology for future higher loaded critical components in terms of pressure, temperature and rotational speed.
Sébastien Aknouche Vice President and General Manager, Services and Special Products Engine Systems said: "With the support of the Swedish National Space Agency, ESA and ArianeGroup we are proud to participate in the Prometheus (https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Transportation/Prometheus_to_power_future_launchers) project and to make a technological contribution to this key European space project. This allows us together with our suppliers, to work with our customer to develop and demonstrate advanced AM technologies in operation and at full scale. We look forward to demonstrating the benefits and the added value in weight and cost reduction, and in faster production rates. These factors, along with our established expertise in space turbines, have resulted in the award of this engine turbine contract."
GKN Aerospace's space business unit, in Trollhättan, Sweden, has been active in the Ariane programme from its inception in 1974 until the current Ariane 6 partnership and has made over 1,000 combustion chambers and nozzles as well as over 250 turbines for the Ariane rocket to date. Today it is the European centre of excellence for turbines and metallic nozzles, having contributed to the programme at every stage from initial research and development through cooperation with academia to the serial production.
 * Prometheus (https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Transportation/Prometheus_to_power_future_launchers) is an ESA funded program for a low-cost re-usable rocket engine demonstrator on methane propellant, with ArianeGroup as the Prime Contractor.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/124551.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/68875.jpg)Caleb Henry‏ @CHenry_SN (https://twitter.com/CHenry_SN) 47 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/CHenry_SN/status/1073586499743113216)

.@ArianeGroup (https://twitter.com/ArianeGroup) and Germany's space agency @DLR_en (https://twitter.com/DLR_en) have started 3D-printed gas generator testing for Prometheus, a future low-cost reusable engine.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/173305.jpg)

Цитировать

Press release

Prometheus: testing of the future lox-methane engine demonstrator begins

ЦитироватьEurope unveils design of reusable rocket that looks a lot like a Falcon 9 "I have no problem saying we didn't invent anything."  
 Eric Berger (https://arstechnica.com/author/ericberger/) - 2/26/2019, 4:31 PM
   
 https://youtu.be/h_rV0eFzeKY
https://youtu.be/h_rV0eFzeKY (https://youtu.be/h_rV0eFzeKY)
 
Late last week, the European rocket maker Ariane Group and the French space agency CNES announced the creation of an "acceleration platform" to speed development of future launch vehicles. The initiative, called ArianeWorks, would be a place where "teams work together in a highly flexible environment, open to new players and internationally."
"In this era of NewSpace and in the context of fierce competition, ArianeWorks will accelerate innovation at grassroots level, in favor of mid-tier firms and start-ups, with commitment to reducing costs a major priority," a news release sent to Ars states.
As part of the announcement, the organizations released a promotional video (https://www.ariane.group/en/photo-video/arianegroup-and-cnes-launch-arianeworks-acceleration-platform/) for the group's first step—a so-called Themis demonstrator. The goal of this project is to build a multiple-engine first-stage rocket that launches vertically and lands near the launch site. The rocket will be powered by Europe's Prometheus engine, a reusable liquid oxygen and methane engine that may cost as little as $1 million to build.
The new video is striking because of how similar the Themis demonstrator of "breakthrough technologies" looks to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Even the engines, with a thrust of 100 tons each, are similar to the output of the Merlin 1D that powers the Falcon 9 rocket. (One difference is that the Merlin 1D engine uses kerosene fuel instead of methane).
The promotional video shows a rocket taking off and then jumps to a landing, complete with four landing legs. A new rocket then takes off as another one lands—similar to concepts SpaceX has discussed (https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/musks-mars-moment-audacity-madness-brilliance-or-maybe-all-three/) for its next generation-rocket and Starship.

Sure, we're copying

To be fair, the European rocket builders have not sought to hide their emulation of SpaceX. During a presentation last year, the head of the French space agency's launch vehicle program, Jean Marc-Astorg, was asked about the similarities. As part of its development program, Ariane and CNES are also planning a "Callisto" hopper vehicle that is similar the Grasshopper test vehicle SpaceX flew in 2012 and 2013 to demonstrate vertical landing capabilities.
"Callisto is Grasshopper," Astorg said (https://satelliteobservation.net/2018/06/02/cnes-director-of-launchers-talks-reusable-rockets/) at the time. "The Chinese are also building a similar prototype, I have no problem saying we didn't invent anything."
The Callisto and Themis development projects are contingent upon funding from European governments, of course. Presently, Ariane Group is nearing completion (https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/07/as-the-spacex-steamroller-surges-european-rocket-industry-vows-to-resist/) of the Ariane 6 rocket, expected to make its first flight in 2020. This vehicle is expendable, but officials said it will be cost-competitive with the Falcon 9 and other rockets offering commercial launch services.
These development projects are part of Europe's effort to develop a booster than comes after the Ariane 6, and it's unlikely to debut before 2028 or 2030. Europe has a long heritage in building quality rockets—it was the first to market commercial launches—and reliably delivering satellites to geostationary space for big telecoms. But in this case, it will be playing catch-up.
A decade from now, SpaceX will almost certainly have perfected reusable spaceflight with its Falcon 9 rocket and may be offering commercial missions on the much larger Starship. Blue Origin, too, should have considerable experience with its reusable New Glenn rocket, and China will probably have one or more reusable launchers.

Listing image by Ariane Works

ЦитироватьPublished on 11/02/2019 at 15h22
By Duncan Macrae
ArianeGroup advances on Prometheus programme    
      
The Prometheus demonstrator of a future low-cost engine for European launchers has successfully passed its definition review.
The Prometheus demonstrator of a future low-cost engine for European launchers has successfully passed its definition review, which was concluded on 1st February. It was carried out by ArianeGroup and ESA teams supported by experts from the French and German space agencies, CNES and DLR.
Prometheus (http://www.aircosmosinternational.com/arianegroup-advances-on-vinci-prometheus-97189) is an ESA programme, initiated with CNES. The contract awarded to ArianeGroup by ESA in December 2017 covers the design, construction and testing of the first two examples of the very low cost engine demonstrator, which uses liquid oxygen and methane technology and is potentially reusable.
Prometheus is a precursor of the future engines intended for European launchers by 2030. The technologies and industrial processes developed for this demonstrator programme will also be used for the propulsion upgrades of Ariane 6.
The goal of the Prometheus demonstrator is to be able to build future liquid propellant engines in the 100 tons thrust class, for a cost ten times less than that involved in building an existing engine such as the Vulcain2.
In addition to switching from the traditional Ariane propellant (liquid oxygen/hydrogen) to liquid oxygen/methane, the demonstrator will entail major changes, including digitisation of engine control and diagnostics. It also depends on the use of innovative design and production methods and tools, including construction using 3D printing in a connected factory environment.
The next major programme milestone will be the Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR) to start the production of two demonstrators in the first half of 2019. Testing of those two engines is scheduled for 2020.
(http://www.air-cosmos.com/upload/18/pics/2018/09/paper/5b8fdf251cb97.png)

ЦитироватьPublished on 25/02/2019 at 11h09
By Duncan Macrae
ArianeGroup, CNES launch ArianeWorks acceleration platform
          
French space agency CNES is teaming with ArianeGroup to create an acceleration platform dedicated to laying the groundwork for future launchers.
Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of French space agency CNES, and ArianeGroup CEO André-Hubert Roussel have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create an acceleration platform dedicated to the preparation of future launchers. Dubbed ArianeWorks, the new platform aims to boost innovation for future launcher development by bringing teams together under one roof and connecting them to Europe's space ecosystem.
CNES and ArianeGroup are currently developing Ariane 6 for the European Space Agency (ESA). Since 2015, they have been working together on the Prometheus demonstrator of a future low-cost engine for European launchers. Prometheus (http://www.aircosmosinternational.com/arianegroup-advances-on-prometheus-programme-120277) is currently under development, with the first prototype due to be tested in two years.
CNES and ArianeGroup are also working together on the development of Callisto — a reusable first-stage demonstrator — alongside Germany (DLR) and Japan (JAXA).
With ArianeWorks, CNES and ArianeGroup are seeking to achieve a step change by creating a new kind of partnership where teams work together in a highly flexible environment, open to new players and internationally. The top priority is to accelerate the Ariane Next roadmap and in particular its first phase, the Themis demonstrator. ArianeWorks is being created in the lead up to the 2019 Ministerial Conference and its results will be made available to ESA.
As international competition intensifies, the goal, ArianeGroup CEO André-Hubert Roussel explains, is to accelerate the innovation process, in order to prepare for future developments of Ariane by involving new players and attracting new types of funding.
ArianeWorks aims to accelerate innovation at grassroots level, in favour of mid-tier firms and start-ups. Cost reductions will be a major priority. The goal is to work together closely through this first phase up to April 2020 by inspiring and involving new players, not least pioneering start-ups, laboratories, SMEs and manufacturers.
ArianeWorks is also intended to act as a pathfinder, able to accurately assess the technological context in order to make the right choices within the shortest timescales. It will adopt an approach resolutely geared towards open innovation, to encourage the exchange of expertise and spawn a ground-breaking new ecosystem.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Статья 2017 года:

 https://www.eucass.eu/doi/EUCASS2017-537.pdf

ЦитироватьThe engine delivers 100tons of thrust. A single shaft turbo-pump is used to feed the combustion chamber, cooled via a methane regenerative circuit. Four main valves feed the chamber and the gas generator. Three of them are fully regulated valves and allow a throttling level from 30% up to 110%.
The nominal combustion chamber pressure is set to 100 bar, on the basis of engine mass correlation, engine feedback and performance target. The combustion chamber mixture ratio is set to 3.5 which is near the optimum for the combustion chamber, as it is illustrated in Figure 5.
The ejection pressure was selected to 400 mbar. This value was chosen because the Prometheus engine is a 1st stage engine and needs a good sea level thrust.

Цитировать3.1.2 LOX-LCH4 engines

Several initiatives are currently working on engines with the propellant combination LOX-Methane. Although proposed several times in the past, this "softly cryogenic" blend has never yet been realized in an operational launcher stage.
The main combustion chamber MRs of this combination have been selected close to their optimum Isp, however, slightly shifted towards increased MR to reach increased bulk density. This approach is different to the LOX-LH2 engines and results in slight differences in MCC-MR and significant differences in the engine MR. The method is used in a similar way also for the other hydrocarbons and is justified by their increased propellant density but considerably lower mass specific impulse compared to LOX-LH2.
The gas generator operates methane-rich and its hot gas powers the single shaft turbine. Major characteristics are derived of the PROMETHEUS-Demonstrator [7] but the baseline assumptions remain similar to all other engines of the system study. Obtained data (Table 2) are not far off the expected PROMETHEUS-engine.
The staged combustion type is based on a fuel rich preburner design with a single-shaft turbopump. It's worth noting that both simulation tools lrp and RPA converged only for relatively high preburner pressures resulting in lower T/W than other engines. A direct comparison with another engine is not possible because the staged combustion methane engines under development in the US, Raptor and BE-4, intend to operate in FFSC and in LOX-rich-mode and at significantly different chamber pressures [6]. The LOX-Methane engines deliver the highest performance of all hydrocarbon types, yet roughly 80 s to 90 s below the LOX-LH2 engines.

ЦитироватьPaper ID: 44345
oral

69th International Astronautical Congress 2018
IAF SPACE PROPULSION SYMPOSIUM (C4)
Propulsion System (1) (1)

Author: Ms. Pamela SIMONTACCHI
ArianeGroup SAS, France, pamela.simontacchi@ariane.group
Mr. Roland Blasi
ArianeGroup, Germany, roland.blasi@ariane.group

PROMETHEUS: PRECURSOR OF NEW LOW-COST ROCKET ENGINE FAMILY

Abstract
Prometheus is the Precursor of a new liquid rocket Engine family designed for low-cost, flexibility and reusability.
This Project, undertaken through cooperation between CNES and Ariane Group, entered in the ESA Future Launcher Preparatory Programme after the ESA Ministerial Conference in December 2016, with Germany, Italy, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland joining France in the support of this Programme. The aim of Prometheus project is to design, produce, and test an advanced low-cost 100-tons class LOX/LCH4 reusable Engine. This Engine, designed for 1M recurrent cost, targets also flexibility in operation through variable thrust, multiple ignitions, compatibility to main and upper stage operation, and minimized ground operations before and after flight. To reach those ambitious objectives, an extreme design-to-cost approach is mandatory, as well as innovative technologies and advanced industrial capabilities; among the major levers, there are the extensive recourse to Additive Manufacturing for the production of engine components, the introduction of a full electric command system and the on-board Rocket Engine Computer (REEC) for Engine management and monitoring.
In addition, Prometheus programme promotes the application of Agile and Frugal methodologies to get maximum profit in product innovation and value creation in operation.
This paper presents the global status of Prometheus development and gives a specific insight regarding additive manufacturing production of low-cost components.
Prometheus is part of the effort to prepare long terms Ariane6 evolution, called Ariane6Next.

ЦитироватьESA to seek funding for more Prometheus reusable engines at ministerial
by Caleb Henry — October 21, 2019
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/191633.jpg)
Jérôme Breteau, ESA's head of future space transportation, speaking Oct. 21 at IAC 2019 in Washington. Credit: SpaceNews/Caleb Henry

WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency will ask its 22 member states next month to fund an additional two to eight Prometheus reusable engines so that the agency can further the engine's development.

ESA, with prime contractor ArianeGroup, has two Prometheus engines being built today, leveraging funds granted at its 2016 ministerial, plus earlier work supported by the French Space Agency CNES.

Jérôme Breteau, ESA's head of future space transportation, said Oct. 21 at the 70th International Astronautical Congress here that those two engines are on track for test firings in late 2020 at the German Space Agency DLR's Lampoldshausen facility. ESA will continue engine tests into 2021, but what follows "is the subject of our proposal to the Space19+ ministerial," he said.

ESA's tri-annual ministerial conferences are where the agency and its members allocate funds for future space programs. ESA is seeking 12.5 billion euros ($13.9 billion) at its next ministerial, dubbed Space19+, Nov. 27 -28 in Seville, Spain.

Breteau said ESA needs to know the outcome of the ministerial before it can lay out the next steps for Prometheus. The agency has "very ambitious" plans for the liquid-oxygen and methane engine, he said.

ESA's goal with Prometheus is to manufacture the engine for 1 million euros ($1.1 million) each — a tenth the price of the Vulcain engine used on the first stage of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket. Prometheus is also designed to be reusable.

Breteau said Lampoldshausen's hydrogen engine test bench, used for Ariane 6's Vulcain 2.1 engine, will need upgrades to support the methane needed for Prometheus.

Breteau said Prometheus is so far in line with its cost target and its performance target of 1,000 kilonewtons in thrust. He said it is difficult to have a set mass target for Prometheus because that requires knowing what vehicle the engine will support.

Work on Prometheus has been done with the expectation that it would be used on a launch vehicle in the 2030s, but ArianeGroup has mused using it on the Ariane 6 rocket, which debuts in 2020.

Breteau wouldn't go so far as to name a launcher that might use Prometheus.

"System engineering on the target launcher configuration is ongoing," he said. ESA has what Breteau described as "more than a notional idea" of how to cluster Prometheus engines together on a launcher, a detail he said gives an "idea of the maturity of the system activities."

Цитировать2. Prometheus engine spinoffs

The first Prometheus reusable engine is on track for completion by the end of 2020, with ground testing to follow. ArianeGroup is preparing the engine for use in the 2030s, but Bonguet said the company can start applying Prometheus technology to Ariane 6's expendable Vulcain 2.1 first-stage engines and Vinci second-stage engines. Prometheus, in addition to being reusable, leverages extensive 3D printing with the goal of costing 1 million euros to manufacture (a tenth the cost of Ariane 5's Vulcain engine). Bonguet said spinoff technologies like electrical valves and 3D-printed parts from Prometheus could reduce the cost of Ariane 6's expendable engines.

ЦитироватьЛуноход написал:
Набросал статью в Науку и технику:

Цитироватьhttps://frog.cnes.fr/fr

FROG est un acronyme récursif qui veut dire « FROG, a Rocket for GNC demonstration ». Initié par la Direction des Lanceurs du CNES pour tester des algorithmes d'atterrissage de lanceurs réutilisables, FROG est un démonstrateur à petit échelle de concepts VTVL (Vertical Take-off, Vertical Landing, Décollage vertical, atterrissage vertical). Avec ses 3 mètres de haut et 30 centimètres de diamètre, son rôle est celui d'un véhicule d'apprentissage.

Спойлер

Les équipes de la Direction des Lanceurs, avec les partenaires industriels, universitaires et associatifs, y greffent de nouveaux algorithmes de guidage, navigation et contrôle du vol (GNC), de pilotage de poussée avec l'objectif de tester de façon réactive et avec des temps de développements courts, de nouvelles solutions. Ces idées une fois validées pourront être intégrées dans des architectures plus importantes comme les démonstrateurs réutilisables Callisto, Themis et d'autres projets qui verront le jour dans la prochaine décennie.

FROG est aussi une initiative qui tente de sortir des schémas de développement traditionnels, en valorisant les interventions extérieures à la Direction des Lanceurs. Plusieurs équipes de passionnés développent et testent leurs solutions en parallèle dans une approche agile et expérimentale. Pour faire émerger rapidement de nouvelles méthodes de pilotage, sans se mettre de frein technologique

Le premier vol du prototype FROG, propulsé pour l'instant par un turboréacteur, a eu lieu fin mai 2019. Le véhicule est équipé de tout le nécessaire pour se poser à la verticale : une tuyère orientable, un contrôle actif de l'attitude et quatre pieds qui amortissent l'atterrissage. Dans un avenir proche, il est envisagé de remplacer le turboréacteur par un petit moteur fusée pour que les tests soient encore plus fidèles.

[свернуть]

Цитироватьhttps://frog.cnes.fr/fr/vols-captifs-reussis-pour-frog

21 octobre 2019
VOLS CAPTIFS RÉUSSIS POUR FROG
Le 4 octobre, FROG a pris son envol au Centre d'Essai en Vol de Brétigny-sur-Orge, devant un public restreint composé de son équipe projet et de quelques représentants de la Direction des Lanceurs du CNES.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/138122.jpg)
FROG dans son portique, pour son vol captif sur le site de Brétigny-sur-Orge.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/138123.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/138121.jpg)

Спойлер

Les deux démonstrations en vol captif de décollage et d'atterrissage ont été un succès. FROG est un démonstrateur de vol à échelle réduite qui a pour but de tester des algorithmes d'atterrissage vertical au profit des futurs lanceurs réutilisables.

L'équipe projet prépare actuellement la Revue d'Aptitude au Vol libre (RAV) qui se déroulera courant octobre et autorisera les essais en vol libres, sans portique ni câble de sécurité.

FROG est une plateforme d'expérimentation à faible coût de l'ensemble de la chaîne de contrôle de vol (guidage, navigation, pilotage, régulation de poussée, etc). L'objectif est de tester divers approches et algorithmes de la Direction des Lanceurs mais aussi ceux issus de projets étudiants.

Le projet FROG a vu le jour il y a deux ans, et après une première année d'étude de concepts, deux concepts et une logique de développement ont été sélectionnés.

La particularité de FROG c'est son équipe de développement qui s'appuie sur une organisation collaborative et agile ainsi que sur une approche expérimentale. Cette équipe est constituée du CNES, dont le rôle va au-delà de la maîtrise d'œuvre habituelle, de Planète Sciences, de Polyvionics, de l'IUT de Cachan, Drone Center et Sonatronic.

L'organisation atypique de FROG regroupe des bénévoles provenant d'industriels du spatial et de l'aéronautique, des ingénieurs, des enseignants, des étudiants et divers experts dont une équipe pluridisciplinaire de la Direction des Lanceurs du CNES.

Planète Sciences est une association scientifique de portée nationale sur les thèmes de l'espace, de la robotique, de l'astronomie et de l'environnement. Son département Espace réalise des activités expérimentales de fusées, ballons, drones, cansat, propulsions et campagnes de lancement.
Polyvionics est une Jeune Entreprise Innovante (JEI) de R&D dans le domaine de l'aérospatial et des drones, spécialisée dans les systèmes de guidage automatique et d'avionique.
L'IUT de Cachan intervient dans le projet par l'intermédiaire de son fablab et incubateur, l'Innovlab, qui réunit les moyens techniques de l'IUT, les enseignants et des étudiants.
Drones-Center est une PME qui développe et opère des drones sur la Base Aérienne 2017 de Brétigny-sur-Orge.
Sonatronic est une PME spécialisée en développement électronique.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьSalo написал:
 https://spacenews.com/esa-to-seek-funding-for-more-prometheus-reusable-engines-at-ministerial/ (https://spacenews.com/esa-to-seek-funding-for-more-prometheus-reusable-engines-at-ministerial/)
ESA to seek funding for more Prometheus reusable engines at ministerialby Caleb Henry — October 21, 2019

ЦитироватьИсполнительный председатель Arianespace сказал «Нет космосу Дикого Запада»
Стефан Исраэль осуждает тотальное наступление американского миллиардера Элона Маска в космическом секторе.

Интервью Изабель Шаперон Опубликовано сегодня в 10:55
...

А по поводу повторного использования?

Все зависит от объемов производства. В случае с Space X мы видим, что Элону Маску нужен объем, чтобы сделать его ракету прибыльной. Не случайно, что с его проектом созвездия Starlink, в котором 42 000 спутников [предназначено для телекоммуникаций, чтобы охватить всю планету] , он стал своим собственным клиентом! Мы сказали, что будем готовы пойти на повторное использование, если рынок, институциональный и коммерческий объем оправдают это. В этом плане мы надеемся, что министерская конференция профинансирует недорогой двигатель с переменным тягом под названием Prometheus, а также Themis, демонстратор повторного использования.

Цитата: undefinedESA moves ahead on low-cost reusable rocket engine
 04/06/2020 12441 views 124 likes

ESA's Prometheus is the precursor of ultra-low-cost rocket propulsion that is flexible enough to fit a fleet of new launch vehicles for any mission and will be potentially reusable.
At the Space19+ Council meeting in Seville, Spain last November, ESA received full funding to bring the current Prometheus engine design to a technical maturity suitable for industry. Developed by ArianeGroup, Prometheus is now seen as key in the effort to prepare competitive future European access to space.
By applying a design-to-cost approach to manufacturing Prometheus, ESA aims to lower the cost of production by a factor of ten of the current main stage Ariane 5 Vulcain 2 engine.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/225668.jpg)
  (http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/02/Example_Prometheus_flight_configuration)Example Prometheus flight configuration
 (http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/02/Example_Prometheus_flight_configuration)
Features such as variable thrust, multiple ignitions, suitability for main and upper stage application, and minimised ground operations before and after flight also make Prometheus a highly flexible engine.
This Prometheus precursor runs on liquid oxygen–methane which brings high efficiency, allows standardisation and operational simplicity. Methane propellant is also widely available and easy to handle.
In the short term it is likely that operational engines will benefit from the application of Prometheus technologies.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/225669.jpg)  (http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/02/P5_testing_facility_at_DLR_Lampoldshausen)P5 testing facility at DLR Lampoldshausen
 (http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/02/P5_testing_facility_at_DLR_Lampoldshausen)
Upcoming tests overseen by ArianeGroup at the DLR German Aerospace Center's Lampoldshausen testing facility in Germany will validate the hardware components for the first Prometheus engine test model (M1).
In preparation, the P5 test bench will gain a 250 cubic metre capacity propellant tank for methane. This will allow engineers to efficiently switch test configurations between Prometheus and Ariane 6's Vulcain 2.1 main stage engine, also in development.
Main subsystems are being manufactured. The first elements built last year benefited from new methods such as additive layer manufacturing (ALM) which speeds up production, achieves fewer parts and greatly reduces costs.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/225667.jpg)  (http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/02/3D-printed_turbo_pump_for_Prometheus_rocket_engine)3D-printed turbo pump for Prometheus rocket engine
 (http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/02/3D-printed_turbo_pump_for_Prometheus_rocket_engine)
ALM builds a structure layer by layer, which is much quicker and easier than the traditional process of cutting away bulk material. Complex, optimised parts, impossible to manufacture via classical methods, can be created using less material and energy, and in far fewer manufacturing steps.
Components manufactured and now ready to test include the turbo pump's turbine, pump inlet and gas generator valves. March will see the delivery of the chamber valves and on-board rocket engine computer for engine management and monitoring – the part that makes this a 'smart' engine and potentially reusable.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/225499.png)  (http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2017/12/Prometheus_to_power_future_launch_vehicles)Prometheus (http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2017/12/Prometheus_to_power_future_launch_vehicles)
The first combustion chamber model is expected at the end of June while the combustion chamber for M1 will be delivered in December 2020.
Engineers will assemble the M1 full-scale demonstrator at the end of this year for testing on the ground in 2021.
Further Prometheus engines will be built for testing into the future.
Also within ESA's Future Launchers Preparatory Programme, Arianeworks is currently preparing an in-flight reusable vehicle demonstration called Themis, which will incorporate the Prometheus precursor engine.
Prometheus represents a breakthrough in terms of cost and manufacturing and its robust design is the baseline for future evolutions of Ariane to 2030.

Цитата: undefined(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29897.png)Chris B - NSF @NASASpaceflight

ESA interest in Methalox and Reusability: "ESA's Future Launchers Preparatory Programme, Arianeworks is preparing an in-flight reusable demonstrater called Themis... will incorporate the Prometheus precursor engine. Prometheus is the baseline for future evolutions of Ariane 6."
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/183062.jpg)

Цитата: undefined(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67648.jpg)ESA Space Transportation @esa_sts
· 5 июн.
Developing reusable rocket stages in Europe is led by @esa and @ArianeGroup with Prometheus: a precursor for a methane-fuelled first stage, produced with 3D printing, to be used on future evolutions of @Ariane6

Read more about the new low-cost engine: http://esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/ESA_moves_ahead_on_low-cost_reusable_rocket_engine
4:39 PM · 5 июн. 2020 г.·Twitter Web App (https://help.twitter.com/using-twitter/how-to-tweet#source-labels)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67574.jpg)@elonmusk · 5 июн.   (https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1268941050912968704)В ответ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight)
Methalox is the right propellant. Should be staged combustion & highly reusable.

ЦитироватьHand in hand
 ArianeWorks, the innovation accelerator created by CNES and ArianeGroup, keeps up the momentum
07-17-2020 |  5 minutes

Creativity, collaboration and quickness for making projects a reality
Established in February 2019 to accelerate the development of future European launchers and in particular the reusable stage demonstrator Themis, ArianeWorks is embarking on a new phase in the realization of its projects.
Less than a year after its creation, ArianeWorks provided persuasive proof of the viability of the Themis project at the European Space Agency (ESA) Ministerial Council in 2019, and has just been authorised to continue the work pending finalization of an initial development contract.
This support from ESA means that ArianeWorks is now in a position to escalate the development of Themis and is preparing for the first tests with the Prometheus new-generation engine demonstrator in 2021.


(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/197145.jpg)
For the first tests, the team has set up at the ArianeGroup site in Vernon (northern France), where it will be working on various tank configurations and operations. The first prototypes have recently been installed in the historic "PF20" test area.
The Themis demonstrator will not only validate ultra-low-cost solutions, but will also contribute to energy transition in the launcher industry, making it highly eco-responsible through the use of biosourced fuel, recoverable infrastructure, clean transport etc.
In these 18 months, which have been full of innovation, the initiative launched by CNES and ArianeGroup has been extended to five manufacturing partners, all of whom have been contributing ideas, innovations and know-how for Themis (and ArianeWorks is getting ready to welcome more this summer):


A number of experiments over this period have helped to accelerate ideas for Themis, often by involving highly dynamic entities (SMEs or start-ups) from outside the space sector: wireless avionics, low-cost thermal protection, use of robots in operations, and more.

These ideas have now been incorporated into the larger-scale test programme which ArianeWorks is about to commence on behalf of ESA.

Цитировать(https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E12AQFbEqIGrzRkIg/article-cover_image-shrink_720_1280/0?e=1601510400&v=beta&t=lQk6qcQaIJVJRL6qyVIl3kTZKxVS0axa39PG2uEU-tI)

ArianeWorks moving forward for next generation European rockets
Published on July 28, 2020

(https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D03AQHCECJhdBDRew/profile-displayphoto-shrink_100_100/0?e=1601510400&v=beta&t=2umxA7IrpC7DCU_DLQ0_megnXu1GXLZPwozWDsNMbis)Jerome VILA (https://fr.linkedin.com/in/jerome-vila-80284674?trk=author_mini-profile_title)Follow (https://www.linkedin.com/login?session_redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fpulse%2Farianeworks-moving-forward-next-generation-european-rockets-vila&trk=author-info__follow-button)
Founder & Leader chez ArianeWorks

Summer'20 update on ArianeWorks (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-arianeworks-jerome-vila), the innovation platform initiated by ARIANEGROUP and CNES to boost the Ariane rocket roadmap.
In spite of the Covid crisis, ArianeWorks has been transiting in the last few weeks from a so called "pilot phase" to a more intense stage, enabled by the pre-award of an European Space Agency contract for THEMIS, a demonstration for a low cost and reusable rocket stage that shall pave the way for the 2030 European space fleet. Better than lenghty explanations, you can get a look at the notional plan herebelow and pay of visit at ArianeGroup latest post  (https://www.ariane.group/en/news/arianeworks-the-innovation-accelerator-created-by-cnes-and-arianegroup-keeps-up-the-momentum/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=Socials)to figure out ambitions for this project, which is building upon CALLISTO experimental vehicle  (https://cnes.fr/fr/callisto)and PROMETHEUS  (https://www.ariane.group/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Prometheus_2020_05_DS_EN_Web.pdf)new European rocket engine.
(https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E12AQHNzMk2O64cYQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0?e=1601510400&v=beta&t=REsb0AhQSS7d-vUjs-ie-yb4vNQ3pLZV_n0zz5CT8pE)
The successful transition for ArianeWorks from the "pilot phase" is a result of a number of achievements completed during the past 18 months : swiftly pre-engineering of the THEMIS rocket vehicle, work on tech ideas for future Ariane concepts, and set up of a volontarist experimental approach. This last part - experiments - is the easiest to illustrate, with pictures of hardware popping up here and there on the historic (Ariane 1!) PF20 zone in ArianeGroup Vernon. Subscaled or scale 1 tanks showed here are meant for test & learn of operations, interfaces, tanking...etc. Though of course not yet flight hardware, they include some of the features targeted for THEMIS, such as common bulhead or internal feed lines.
(https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E12AQG5gmCGoQ2BHg/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0?e=1601510400&v=beta&t=jeMJerPTR2gWKDCOYOjOYcQHcSDlL0TBdDvbUmRCXYo)
These achievements are also enabled by the involvement of several industrial partners who joined the collaborative ArianeWorks platform, bringing together background, skills and inspirations for incubating next generation of European rockets. Current partners include ONERA, SABCA, APCO, ADF, RUAG, and the community will likely soon expand for tackling the challenges of Ariane NEXT (or Ariane 7, as Thierry Breton named it (https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/nous-devons-des-maintenant-penser-a-ariane-7-encourage-le-commissaire-europeen-thierry-breton.N980386)).    
Last but not least, herebelow a glimpse on a often overlooked aspect of THEMIS, although it stands high on our agenda : eco-conception. Ariane 2030 vision do include both an economic and an ecological responsibility ambition. And THEMIS is meant to serve as pathfinder on both fronts. Manufacturing, energy, transport, facilities...herebelow an overview of some of the actions / strategical options considered, supported by Life Cycle Analysis to weight options and help steer upcoming design choices. Zoom in and get a closer view !
(https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E12AQFF1i_n2ijXgQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0?e=1601510400&v=beta&t=n4h25hjM2HyaYeGweXRhvcn7feEhqDFCL_qc7ArzlP8)
Cannot conclude without highlighting that next generation of rockets desserve next generation of rocketeers ! We feel very grateful for trainees, apprentices, OpenSpaceMakers  (https://www.federation-openspacemakers.com/)amateurs or student teams from the Perseus program (https://www.perseusproject.com/) that are bringing fresh ideas and passion to these projects. We need you, so stay tuned for upcoming opportunities.

Цитата: undefinedSpaceX
Европейское космическое агентство начинает подготовку к созданию первой многоразовой ракеты ✅
ESA делает первые шаги в направлении демонстрационного полёта прототипа первой ступени ракеты многоразового использования под названием Themis ("Фемида") в... 2023 году.
15 декабря ESA подписало контракт на сумму 33 млн евро с французской ArianeGroup на первый этап программы. Он включает в себя подготовку технологий для прототипа, испытательного стенда и организации статических испытаний в Верноне (Франция). А также подготовку наземного сегмента на космическом полигоне Esrange Space Center в Кируне, Швеция, к первым прыжковым испытаниям и модификациям прототипов ракет.
Программа Themis должна на практике предоставить информацию об экономической эффективности многоразового использования для Европы и опробовать технологии для потенциального использования на будущих европейских ракетах-носителях.
В основе Themis лежат решения, принятые на конференции Space19+, об европейских достижениях в области технологий многоразового использования и нового подхода к разработке космических ракет.
ArianeGroup и её специалисты в Бельгии, Швейцарии, Франции и Швеции будут использовать важные технические новшества, полученные в результате разработки европейского двигателя нового поколения - Prometheus, который будет использоваться в проекте Themis.
Высота ракеты Themis - 30 м, диаметр - 3,5 м. Одноступенчатый прототип будет вмещать 130 тонн жидкого кислорода и метана и иметь три двигателя Prometheus.
Двигатель Prometheus ("Прометей"), разработанный ESA, является универсальным ракетным двигателем, способным выдавать 1000 кН, что делает его пригодным для применения в основной ступени ракеты, ускорителях и разгонном блоке ракеты. Работой двигателя в режиме реального времени будет управлять специальный бортовой компьютер, что является решающим фактором для многоразового использования.
Суборбитальные лётные испытания запланированы на 2023 год на европейском космодроме в Куру, Французская Гвиана.
Рассматриваются две посадочные площадки: "Diamant zone" или стартовый комплекс Ariane 5, который освободится после перехода ESA с запусков ракеты Ariane 5 на новую ракету - Ariane 6.
"Themis создаст дополнительные возможности для снижения стоимости доступа в космос и повысит гибкость Европейских операторов в плане предложения различных пусковых услуг", - сказал Даниэль Нойншвандер (Daniel Neuenschwander), директор ESA по космическом полётам.
"Демонстрация двигателя Prometheus, работающего на жидком кислороде и метане или комбинации кислорода и водорода, приведёт разработке очень недорогих пусковых решений, одновременно способствуя переходу к более экологически безопасным в использовании ракетам", - добавил Андре-Хуберт Руссель (André-Hubert Roussel), исполнительный директор ArianeGroup.
(http://forumuploads.ru/uploads/0019/c5/0a/31/t810868.jpg) (http://forumuploads.ru/uploads/0019/c5/0a/31/810868.jpg)
(http://forumuploads.ru/uploads/0019/c5/0a/31/t379912.jpg) (http://forumuploads.ru/uploads/0019/c5/0a/31/379912.jpg)
(http://forumuploads.ru/uploads/0019/c5/0a/31/t306109.jpg) (http://forumuploads.ru/uploads/0019/c5/0a/31/306109.jpg)

Цитата: undefinedХотя окончательная конструкция еще далека от завершения, Ariane Next будет иметь длину 70 метров и стартовую массу около 790 тонн. В многоразовой версии сможет вывести 4,5 тонны на геопереходную орбиту (GTO), а в одноразовом режиме сможет вывести почти 7 тонн на GTO (Ariane 62 может 4,5 тонны на GTO, а Ariane 64 10,5 тонны). К 2040 году Европа мечтает о полностью многоразовой одноступенчатой пусковой установке, которая в настоящее время известна как Ariane Ultimate и которая перенесет технологию Ariane Next в другое измерение. Первоначально дебют Ariane Next планировался примерно в 2030 году, но многие считают, что к тому времени будет уже слишком поздно, поэтому давление с целью продвинуть его внедрение нарастает.

Цитата: undefinedCallisto

"Каллисто" -это полностью многоразовая 15-метровая ракета-носитель, которая должна совершить свой первый испытательный полет с Гвианского космического центра в конце 2022 года, подняться на высоту 30-40 км и затем вернуться на Землю.
...
За первым испытательным полетом последует серия из 10 полетов в 2023 году.

Цитата: undefinedPrometheus, тестовая кампания на верном пути...

В то время как 1-й экземпляр двигателя будущего скоро будет доставлен, готовится 1-ая фаза демонстрационных испытаний. Кампания будет проходить в 2 этапа - в Верноне, а затем на испытательном стенде P5 в Lampoldshausen (Германия), переоборудованном для размещения Prometheus.

Разработка Prometheus, очень дешевого двигателя, который будет двигателем для будущих европейских носителей, в ближайшие месяцы сделает решающий шаг вперед. 1-й экземпляр двигателя M1, работа над которым в настоящее время завершается, проведет свои первые демонстрационные испытания к концу года. Основным объектом, где будут проходить тестовые кампании Prometheus, является P5. Эта установка, расположенная на территории Lampoldshausen немецкого космического агентства DLR и до сих пор использовавшаяся для двигателя Vulcan, должна быть адаптирована к метановому двигателю. Но не дожидаясь окончания работ, в феврале 2022 года на полигоне многоразовой пусковой установки Themis в Верноне, на площадке ArianeGroup, будут проведены первые прожиги. Эта предварительная фаза приведет к будущей кампании P5, определив возможные аномалии, чтобы проверить Prometheus в конфигурации Themis, а также предвидеть часть плана испытаний, запланированного на P5.

"Скорость и ловкость являются частью философии Prometheus, целью всегда было как можно быстрее пройти фазы тестирования. Так как двигатель должен устанавливаться на Themis, существует реальная заинтересованность в использовании синергии с Themis в качестве средства тестирования. Эти испытания гарантируют, что концепция двигателя актуальна."

План работы этой 2-этапной испытательной кампании предусматривает в Верноне от 10 до 20 коротких (от 5 до 40 секунд) прожигов двигателя М1, время которого ограничено объемом существующих баков на Themis. В Германии испытания будут проводиться на двух двигателях M1 и M2 с более длительным временем прожига от 300 до 500 секунд. Цель будет состоять в том, чтобы продемонстрировать, что эти технологически репрезентативные экземпляры соответствуют спецификациям Prometheus с точки зрения производительности, в том числе, что они многоразовые и что тяга является модульной, то есть способной оснащать будущие европейские пусковые установки к 2030 году. "Испытания также имеют функцию, чтобы продемонстрировать способность реализовать производство ALM или 3D-печать на максимальном количестве деталей двигателя," говорит Амайя Эспиноса.

По завершении этого первого этапа программа сможет продвинуться вперед с производством дополнительных 4 двигателей до 1-й демонстрации в полете, которая может произойти в 2023 году.

Знаете ли вы...
Prometheus - программа Европейского космического агентства, инициированная CNES. Она нацелена на производство инновационного двигателя с очень низкой стоимостью около 1 миллиона евро, который будет оснащать будущие носители с 2030-х годов. Среди своей специфики Прометей питается комбинацией кислорода и жидкого метана и будет повторно использоваться до 5 раз. В массовом производстве двигателя также будут использоваться инновационные технологии, такие как 3D-печать.

Цитата: Stimbergi от 23.03.2021 14:24:50Совмещенный тестовый бак 'Strike', разработанный ArianeWorks - предназначен для полномасштабного тестирования нескольких новшеств, предназначенных для демонстратора Themis, включая топливопровод и общее днище между кислородным и метановым баком. Судя по всему диаметр составляет 3,5 м (как и заявлено  для суборбитального демонстратора Themis), таким образом высота ~ 21 м. Испытания с совмещенным тестовым баком проходят на исторической испытательной площадке PF20 Ariane 1 в Верноне, реконструированной для этого случая. https://www.ariane.group/en/news/themis-reaches-for-the-sky/ (https://www.ariane.group/en/news/themis-reaches-for-the-sky/)

Видео - https://twitter.com/ArianeGroup/status/1327158496928952322
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/178955.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/178956.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/197146.jpg)

Цитата: Верный Союзник с Окинавы от 23.03.2021 16:02:37А чего бак такой "рубленный"?

Цитата: undefinedС помощью Themis - Европа хочет оснастить свои будущие ракеты-носители недорогой и многоразовой европейской первой ступенью! Пока инженеры SpaceX все еще рассматривают систему восстановления для ракеты-носителя Илона Маска Starship Super Heavy, команды ArianeWorks изучают инновационную концепцию восстановления первой ступени Ariane Next: SmartCatcher!
...

Проект SmartCatcher, изучаемый с 2019 года, направлен на восстановление первой ступени ракеты-носителя без использования шасси (посадочных опор). Для решения этой технологической задачи инженеры компании Latesys полагаются на интеллектуальную сетевую систему, которая будет захватывать бустер за несколько мгновений до его падения на землю.

Хотя эта концепция, похожая на гигантский ловец снов, кажется, усложняет вертикальную посадку ракеты, она позволила бы избежать добавления тяжелой и сложной системы шасси (посадочных опор).

Финансируемый CNES проект Perseus (Европейский университет и студенческий проект по научным космическим исследованиям) готовит новое поколение инженеров к тому, чтобы представить себе ракеты-носители завтрашнего дня. Именно в этом контексте Университет Ренна создал первый прототип интеллектуальной системы захвата.

Модель в масштабе 570 кг используется для оптимизации алгоритмов управления кабелями и, возможно, однажды ее можно будет адаптировать для ловли в полете демонстраторов небольших ракет, подобных той, что используется в программе FROG.

Если система SmartCatcher окажется успешной, она может быть адаптирована к плавучим баржам, подобным автономным платформам от SpaceX. ArianeWorks также изучает проект воздушного транспорта (дирижабль?) для доставки использованных ускорителей обратно на завод для восстановления!

Цитата: Stimbergi от 26.09.2021 10:34:12С помощью Themis - Европа хочет оснастить свои будущие ракеты-носители недорогой и многоразовой европейской первой ступенью! Пока инженеры SpaceX все еще рассматривают систему восстановления для ракеты-носителя Илона Маска Starship Super Heavy, команды ArianeWorks [уже] изучают инновационную концепцию восстановления первой ступени Ariane Next: SmartCatcher!

Цитировать12 января 2021 года президент Франции Эммануэль Макрон объявил,
что 15 миллионов евро из плана восстановления будут направлены на разработку «Прометея».

Это финансирование должно позволить ускорить разработку двигателя и «выиграть год».
 Связано с сомнениями в жизнеспособности новой ракеты-носителя Ariane 6,
особенно со стороны министра финансов Франции
==
Бомба Ле Мэра: правильный ли выбор сделала Европа с Ariane 6?
« La bombe de Le Maire : l'Europe a-t-elle fait le bon choix avec Ariane 6? »
https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/la-bombe-de-bruno-le-maire-l-europe-a-t-elle-fait-le-bon-choix-avec-ariane-6-758746.html

ЦитироватьIt looks like we're going to have to wait another year before the first hop test of the @ArianeGroup (https://twitter.com/ArianeGroup/) Themis reusable booster demonstrator.

Цитата: Stimbergi от 13.01.2023 11:15:45Первый полет в 2024 году:

ЦитироватьIt looks like we're going to have to wait another year before the first hop test of the @ArianeGroup (https://twitter.com/ArianeGroup/) Themis reusable booster demonstrator.

https://twitter.com/AndrewParsonson/status/1613772223818469377
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/337959.jpg)

Цитата: nonconvex от 14.01.2023 04:53:42

Цитата: Stimbergi от 13.01.2023 11:15:45Первый полет в 2024 году:

ЦитироватьIt looks like we're going to have to wait another year before the first hop test of the @ArianeGroup (https://twitter.com/ArianeGroup/) Themis reusable booster demonstrator.

https://twitter.com/AndrewParsonson/status/1613772223818469377
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/337959.jpg)

Какая то она у них помятая и обшарпанная. Воистину недорогая.

ЦитироватьAlmatech, our main partner, unveiled the first leg of Themis, a future European reusable launcher! 
 https://twitter.com/GruyereSpace/status/1630259032656080896

Цитата: Искандер от 02.03.2023 22:58:37Иначе создание Темис выглядит затягиванием (с целью попила?) Ариан-Некст.

Цитата: Искандер от 03.03.2023 13:27:25Лично у меня (ламера) Ариан Ултимейт вызывает невыносимую грусть.
Как там - "не верю!".
Многоразовый одноступ на метановых движках открытого цикла???

Цитата: Stimbergi от 03.03.2023 22:40:42

Цитата: Искандер от 02.03.2023 22:58:37Иначе создание Темис выглядит затягиванием (с целью попила?) Ариан-Некст.

Как я понял они хотят дать полетать Ариан-6  хотя бы лет десять - поэтому программа Prometheus движется черепашьим ходом.

Цитата: Искандер от 03.03.2023 13:27:25Лично у меня (ламера) Ариан Ултимейт вызывает невыносимую грусть.
Как там - "не верю!".
Многоразовый одноступ на метановых движках открытого цикла???

По сути Нейтрон срисовали с Ариан Ултимейт - поэтому возможно там единый принцип "полной" многоразовости
[url="https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=30393;type=preview;file"]maxresdefault.jpg[/url]

Цитата: Искандер от 03.03.2023 13:27:25Многоразовый одноступ на метановых движках открытого цикла???
Пока что ни одного одноразового космического носителя нет (ПМСМ и не будет), а они на многоразовый замахнулись.

Цитата: Stimbergi от 03.03.2023 22:40:42

Цитата: Искандер от 02.03.2023 22:58:37Иначе создание Темис выглядит затягиванием (с целью попила?) Ариан-Некст.

Как я понял они хотят дать полетать Ариан-6  хотя бы лет десять - поэтому программа Prometheus движется черепашьим ходом.

Цитата: Искандер от 03.03.2023 13:27:25Лично у меня (ламера) Ариан Ултимейт вызывает невыносимую грусть.
Как там - "не верю!".
Многоразовый одноступ на метановых движках открытого цикла???

По сути Нейтрон срисовали с Ариан Ултимейт - поэтому возможно там единый принцип "полной" многоразовости
[url="https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=30393;type=preview;file"]maxresdefault.jpg[/url]

Цитата: Искандер от 04.03.2023 04:28:44Нейтрон, как отметил Дмитрий, это двуступенчатая РН. Его техническое решение использует тот неоспоримый момент, что как правило в двухступенчатой РН сброс головного обтекателя и первой ступени события близкие по времени. Почему бы их не совместить и возвращать первую ступень с обтекателями одним куском, а не морочится как SpaceX.

ЦитироватьВ то время как квалификация Ariane 6 вступила в завершающую фазу, ее преемник Ariane Next запланирован на 2030-е годы - размышления о проекте Ariane Ultimate на период после 2040 года идут полным ходом.

На данном этапе это все еще только концепция, то есть совокупность новых технологий, которые находятся в зачаточном состоянии, но которые мы хотим сделать зрелыми к этому времени, чтобы разработать пусковую установку, которая должна быть углеродно-нейтральной, полностью многоразовой и с почти нулевыми предельными затратами на запуск. Это также вопрос прогнозирования новых видов использования космоса в ближайшие десятилетия, какими мы можем их представить на этом горизонте: например, потребность в высоких скоростях для достижения низких орбит, которые могли бы служить центрами обмена по направлению к Луне или Марсу.

Одним из первых направлений, изученных для Ariane Ultimate, является гипотеза о полном повторном использовании и разработка одноступенчатой ракеты-носителя для вывода на орбиту.

"Дешевле, проще, эффективнее, простое межполетное обслуживание: этот тип одноступенчатой пусковой установки стал бы святым граалем! Однако в настоящее время это невозможно, особенно потому, что материалы, которые мы используем, слишком тяжелые. Поэтому мы должны найти способ облегчить конструкции", - объясняет Натали Жирар.

Таким образом, первоначальные исследования ориентированы на разработку новых, более легких и чрезвычайно стойких материалов, таких как углеродные нанотрубки, графен или архитектурные материалы, ставшие возможными благодаря 3D-производству. Другим направлением является разработка двигательной установки с использованием новых видов топлива с высокой плотностью энергии, которые позволили бы резко снизить массу и стоимость пусковой установки. Ariane Ultimate наконец включает в себя размышления об авионике и программном обеспечении, которые выиграют от новых технологических достижений, таких как "многоядерные" процессоры или квантовый компьютер.
https://parabolicarc.com/2021/05/22/ariane-ultimate-project-looks-toward-launchers-of-2040/

Цитата: Дем от 04.03.2023 02:55:54

Цитата: Искандер от 03.03.2023 13:27:25Многоразовый одноступ на метановых движках открытого цикла???
Пока что ни одного одноразового космического носителя нет (ПМСМ и не будет), а они на многоразовый замахнулись.

Замахиваться на многоразовый - правильно. Но через какое количество запусков он перестанет быть одноразовым конечно вопрос.
Ну и он не одноступ.
Движок открытой схемы - тоже самое простое из возможного.

Их основная ошибка - они слишком увлеклись попилом инвестиций на разработки вместо делания чего-то хоть как-то но реально летающего. И поменять привычку после стольких лет будет слишком сложно.

Цитировать22 июня на площадке компании ArianeGroup в Верноне, Франция,
прошло первое огневое испытание разрабатываемого двигателя Prometheus
на кислороде и метане..
Длительность теста составила 12 секунд.