Launchers

Ariane-5 in its most recent ECA version can place up to 10.5 tons of payload in geostationary transfer orbit and 20 tons in low orbit to meet the needs of telecommunications satellites and scientific exploration missions.

The launcher is built by a consortium of European companies placed under the supervision of ArianeGroup and marketed by the private company Arianespace which has carried out five to seven launches, generally double (two satellites at a time), per year since the launch centre in Kourou, Guyana.

The technical and commercial success of Ariane-5 is undeniable, but in view of the evolution of the market, it remains fragile.

Indeed, this launcher can remain competitive as long as it can launch two satellites into geostationary orbit, but given the evolution of the market and the average mass of satellites, it becomes more and more difficult to find two compatible satellites, a small one and a large one, which are simultaneously ready for a joint launch. The launcher's competitiveness is therefore eroding and it is for this reason that in 2014, the member states of the ESA decided to launch the development of the Ariane 6 launcher.

Vega is primarily sized to place payloads up to 1500 kg in low polar Earth orbits at an altitude of 700 km. Its main objective is to provide Europe with a safe, reliable, competitive and efficient launcher for carrying scientific and Earth observation payloads.

Vega can perform a wide range of missions (with a payload capacity of between 300 kg and 2500 kg) to a wide variety of orbits, from equatorial orbits to sun-synchronous orbits. It can also carry one or more payloads depending on the needs of the missions.

The launcher is built by a consortium of European companies under the supervision of Avio and is marketed by the private company Arianespace, which performs two to three launches per year from the Kourou launch centre in French Guiana.

The technical choice fell on a PHH version (first stage based on solid propulsion (P = powder) while the second and third are based on liquid propulsion (H = hydrogen)), thus allowing:

• maximize synergies with the VEGA launcher by developing a solid propulsion engine common to the two launchers, the P-120;
• to have a more modular Ariane-6 launcher by offering two versions, A62 with two solid rocket motors, mainly dedicated to institutional missions and Ariane-64 which includes 4 solid rocket motors for commercial missions.  Depending on the version, the new launcher will have the capacity to place satellites with a mass of 5 or 10.5 tons in a geostationary transfer orbit.

The development of the Ariane 6 launch system is now entering its final phase and the development, production and pre-marketing of the first batch of 14 Ariane 6 launchers have started. Nevertheless, certain technical (linked to new technological) or human (such as the 2017 strike in Guyana or the Covid-19 health crisis) hazards have delayed the entire programme and the qualification flight initially scheduled for July 2020 is now scheduled for second quarter 2022.

Its main feature is that it shares its first stage with Ariane 6, which then uses it as a booster propellant, hence the addition of the letter "C", for "common". The P120C stage therefore acts as a common engine for the two launchers. This is a way of optimizing developments and therefore reducing costs.

The inaugural flight of Vega-C should have taken place in September 2019 but following the failure of July 2019 and delays related to the Covid-19 pandemic, this flight is currently scheduled for the start of the second half of 2021.

At the ESA Ministerial Council in Lucerne in 2016, it was decided to extend the third period of the FLPP. This third period of the programme / NEO (New Economic Opportunities) is above all focused on integrated systems, technologies and demonstrators.

The activities of the third NEO period are underway and are carried out in synergy with the development of new development programmes.

Based on the massive use of additive printing (or 3D printing), coupled with mass production with a rate of 50 engines per year, it will allow the production cost to be divided by 10 compared to the Vulcain 2 engine that equips currently Ariane 5, ie a unit cost of € 1 million.

To the technological breakthrough, Prometheus adds a breakthrough in terms of costs.
The Prometheus engine could see the light of day before 2030, offering new opportunities for the European Union.

It is developed by ArianeGroup on behalf of ESA

If these technologies are validated, this new stage should equip the generation of launchers which will take over from the future Ariane 6 by 2030.

The Themis project is developed on behalf of ESA through ArianeWorks which is an innovation platform launched by CNES and ArianeGroup and intended to accelerate the preparation of future generations of European rockets.