Preparing the Future of European Space Transportation

Paper number

IAC-18,D2,4,5,x47167

Author

Ms. Kate Underhill, France, European Space Agency (ESA)

Coauthor

Mr. Jérôme Breteau, France, European Space Agency (ESA)

Coauthor

Mr. Jean-Noel Caruana, France, European Space Agency (ESA)

Coauthor

Ms. Jamila Mansouri, France, European Space Agency (ESA)

Coauthor

Mr. Jorgen Bru, France, European Space Agency (ESA)

Year

2018

Abstract

The ESA Space Transportation Directorate’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) works on new technologies providing higher performance, larger mission versatility and cost gains to the evolutions of operational launchers based on the investigation of future space transportation services and advanced concepts. At the Ministerial Conference of ESA in 2016, the FLPP “New Economic Opportunities” (NEO) period was subscribed, with the goal of framing and developing a portfolio of flagship demonstrators and associated technologies to ensure short time to market of price-competitive innovations for possible evolutions of European launchers.

FLPP is oriented around a triangle of – System/Services – Technologies – Demonstrators – supporting the maturation of technologies up to their integration into flagship demonstrators, in line with system studies justifying their interest for future service-centric applications, including commercially driven space transportation services.

A new cycle is starting in future preparation, investment in system and business analyses as well as a diversified portfolio of integrated demonstrators and key technologies is mandatory to:

\begin{itemize}\item Significantly reduce the recurrent cost of European launch solutions\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item Enable a quick reaction to opportunities and threats by shortening the development cycles and reducing the time to market for new launch capabilities\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item Prepare further evolutions and ruptures towards a more service-centric approach\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item Open the way for spin-ins and COTS applications \end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item Secure unrestricted access to new and critical technologies, safeguarding innovation and engineering competences in Europe\end{itemize} 
\begin{itemize}\item Reinforce the competitiveness of industrial partners\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item Propose business opportunities for newcomers\end{itemize} 

Current FLPP activities include studies on evolutions of Ariane launchers focused on services to customers and completed with commercially self-sustaining micro-launchers, reusability interest investigation and demonstration, an advanced avionics test bed, investigations into propulsion solutions for increased launcher mission versatility (green propellants, kick-stages), a full-scale Vinci-2 precursor thrust chamber demonstrator undergoing hot-fire testing in 2018 and ultra-low cost propulsion solutions. All this work is underpinned by the identification and maturation of advanced technologies, applicable across multiple domains, including additive manufacturing in various forms (selective laser melting, cold gas spray, laser metal deposition, etc.), reliable sensors, fault-tolerant controllers, low mass structures and the development of modelling tools but also new low-cost production processes.

The programme and a selection of current activities are presented in this paper, providing for competitive evolutions of European launchers, supporting European industry in space transportation research and technology and looking forward towards innovative and effective solutions for new space transportation services.

Abstract document

IAC-18,D2,4,5,x47167.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-18,D2,4,5,x47167.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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