Author Topic: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates  (Read 343337 times)

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #120 on: 11/11/2016 02:01 pm »
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/Ariane_6_on_track

Ariane 6 on track

Quote
After a programme review completed in September, ESA is now in a position to proceed with the full development of its Ariane 6 and Vega C launch vehicles.

Today, the riders to the contracts awarded in August 2015 were signed at ESA headquarters in Paris, France. This confirms the timely continuation of the preparation of Europe’s Ariane 6 and its launch complex.

Quote
The overall value of the contracts is €3 billion. The contract amounts are: €2.4 billion for ASL and €600 million for CNES.

They cover the final full-scale development of Ariane 6 and its launch complex.

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #121 on: 11/11/2016 02:03 pm »
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/11/Artist_s_view_of_Vega_Vega-C_Ariane_5_ECA_and_the_two_configurations_of_Ariane_6

Artist's view of Vega, Vega-C, Ariane 5 ECA and the two configurations of Ariane 6 using two boosters (A62) or four boosters (A64).

Image credit: ESA–David Ducros, Jacky Huart, 2016

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #122 on: 11/26/2016 02:29 pm »
Ariane 6 launch pad

The Ariane 6 launch pad with two symmetric exhaust ducts, four lightning protection masts, and a water tower for deluge systems.

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/11/Ariane_6_launch_pad

Image credit: CNES 2016

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #123 on: 11/26/2016 02:33 pm »
Launcher Assembly Building for Ariane 6

Artist's impression of the Ariane 6 Launcher Assembly Building (BAL), a structure 20 m tall, 112 m long and 41 m wide, located 1 km away from the launch zone. It is used for launch vehicle horizontal integration/preparation before rollout to the launch zone.

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/11/Launcher_Assembly_Building_for_Ariane_6

Image credit: CNES 2016

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #124 on: 11/26/2016 02:38 pm »
Mobile gantry for Ariane 6

The mobile gantry is a 90 metre-high mobile metallic structure weighing 6000 tonnes when fully equipped, that rolls on rails equipped with platforms to access the appropriate launcher levels for integration on the launch pad. The gantry is moved away just before launch.

(Artist's impression)

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/11/Mobile_gantry_for_Ariane_6

Image credit: CNES 2016

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #125 on: 11/28/2016 01:42 pm »
Quote
Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes 6m6 minutes ago

Sweden(1): Liberal Party asks govt to quit Ariane 6 program unless it's made reusable, saying rocket cant compete w/ SpaceX otherwise.
https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/803245890806882304

Quote
Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes 3m3 minutes ago

Sweden(2): Space minister Helene Hellmark Knutsson rejects Ariane 6 reusability-now demand, says wont propose it at Dec 1-2 ESA ministerial.
https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/803246667747229696

Offline Rik ISS-fan

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #126 on: 11/28/2016 08:53 pm »
Spacenews article: Q&A Avio CEO Ranzo ...
About Avio and MT Aerospace sharing the A6 ESR (booster) casing production.
In short All casings produced in Germany are going to be completed at Avio (Italy).

Offline woods170

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #127 on: 11/29/2016 09:44 am »
Spacenews article: Q&A Avio CEO Ranzo ...
About Avio and MT Aerospace sharing the A6 ESR (booster) casing production.
In short All casings produced in Germany are going to be completed at Avio (Italy).
More particularly: the work duplicated in Germany is the "simple" portion of the casing production process. The more difficult stuff remains exclusively in Italy.
« Last Edit: 11/29/2016 09:46 am by woods170 »

Offline DT1

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #128 on: 12/05/2016 09:14 pm »
News about testing Vinci for Ariane 6 in the current DLR magazine
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/Portaldata/1/Resources/documents/dlr_magazin_152/DLR_Magazine_151-152_GB.pdf


LAUNCH INTO SPACE WITH A
DOWN-TO-EARTH ATTITUDE

Report on engine test for future space launch vehicle Ariane 6
By Manuela Braun

The first barriers will be set up at 10:45. The Talstrasse, which passes directly below the test
facilities at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen, is now closed to traffic at a distance of about
300 metres. And the traffic light is red at approximately 50 metres from the P4.1 test stand,
built and operated by DLR on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). A warning sign
dangling on the chain that stretches across the access road to the test stand reads ‘Danger
zone’ in bright red uppercase letters. “When the chain is locked: Life-threatening danger!
Major DLR test underway!” Today, liquid oxygen at a temperature of minus 183 degrees
Celsius and liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius will flow through feed lines, a Vinci
engine will be ignited twice in a vacuum, followed by a two-hour simulated propulsion-free
flight. In doing so, the vibrations that occur in the feed line filled with liquid oxygen will be
dampened as effectively as possible with a newly developed system. All this happens under
the space conditions that the Ariane 6 launch vehicle would endure during a flight – yet it
takes place close to the ground. The P4.1 test stand is the only one in Europe that can maintain
a stable vacuum during a test in which the engine and nozzle can operate as if at an
altitude above 70 kilometres.

Choreography of a test

“The test stand has been cleared.” Bernhard Linseisen puts down the telephone receiver. He is
responsible for ensuring that the strict safety barriers around the test stand are met during the
engine test, and ensures contact between the test director and the safety centre. Only those
who have permission from the test director and express clearance from the safety centre can
remain in the restricted area. Manuel Müller nods and reaches for his ballpoint pen. One more
item checked off the long list of around 1500 that must be completed during today’s test.
Müller is responsible for this chronology today and will therefore be test director Stefan Grunwald’s
right hand. This evening, at approximately 19:00, the last note will be added to the thick
pile of paper and the last item checked off. An engine test follows an elaborate choreography
with many participants who are each responsible for their respective fields. The chronology
ensures that no detail is forgotten and everything falls into place.

Waiting for clearance

The atmosphere in the control room is still relaxed. Since 10:00 this
morning, the engine has been covered with a special protective heat
shield, all equipment and tools from the vacuum chamber in the test
stand have been dismantled, and the heavy door of the vacuum
chamber has been closed. One of the screens in the control room
seems to show nothing – the camera is pointed at a black nozzle in a
pitch-black chamber. Only during the hot run will this screen show
something – the orange-coloured glow of the engine nozzle. While
the last preparations are underway, Grunwald is sitting next door in
the meeting room. Together with his team, he is discussing the last
measured values and the deviations from these values during the final
rehearsal with the client, the company Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL).
Green light for the planned test run will only be given if both parties
– DLR as the test stand operator and ASL as the contracting entity –
agree on the framework conditions for today’s test.

Increase from test run to test run

At 11:30, the time has come: Grunwald attaches the clearance document
to the white board in the control room. “Green light for test
M5R-12” and the signatures of the test director and client are on the
paper. The twelfth test run since April 2016 – and number 108 in
total with a Vinci engine – can begin. After the decision made at the
ESA Council meeting at ministerial level in December 2014 to develop
the Ariane 6 launcher, the previously tested Vinci engines and nozzles
were also changed. Instead of an extendable nozzle, for example, a
shorter, more compact one is now being developed and thoroughly
tested. At the DLR site in Lampoldshausen, the tried and tested P4.1
high-altitude test stand was therefore modified and adapted to the
new development targets. While a hot run without a nozzle was
carried out in the first test in order to keep the risk low, the final
configuration has meanwhile edged a bit closer with each test. Today,
several newly developed components are in the test stand, such as
the engine, the nozzle, liquid-oxygen feed line and valve, as well as a
vibration damping system.
The ‘Go’ is given. Oxygen and hydrogen are now flowing through the
test stand feed lines – it will take between two-and-a-half and three
hours until the test stand and engine have cooled down enough for
the test conditions to be reached. “LH2?” – “Tank pressure control is
running.” “What is the gas composition in the vacuum chamber?”
There is less and less background noise in the control room. Only brief
questions and answers are exchanged. Everyone is now sitting in
position as a specialist for their area and looking at the graphics and
measured values displayed on the screen. At the beginning of the
test, many things are still set manually – important in this case are the
boundary values, and the experience and instinct of the scientist.
Later, the computer will increasingly take over. Approximately 150
sequences with countless lines of code will then ensure that the
processes in the test stand are automatically and precisely executed
– and that the test is stopped if the measured values require it.

Ignite, cool, fly

The engine will run for 600 seconds after the first ignition. Shortly
before that, four steam generators will be ignited that – after a large,
three-metre-diameter flap has connected the vacuum chamber and
high-altitude system – will produce an air pressure of only a few millibars,
almost like a vacuum, in the facility for the duration of the test.
A short 120-second period follows in which the engine is purged and
cooled again before re-igniting for 60 seconds. Then, there is a twohour
‘free flight’, a so-called coast phase in which the upper stage of
the Ariane 6 rocket ‘flies’ without propulsion. The test on P4.1 should
then end with a final cooling of the engine. Approximately 900
sensors installed in the engine and test stand record pressure, temperature
and acceleration levels throughout the test. On this test day,
however, not everything will go as planned.
13:00. “Now it’s getting cold.” Today, Ralf Hupertz is the Supervisor
of the test team. He looks at two screens crammed with data, measured
values and graphics. “Now there is liquid in the lines.” “13:30,
then the next safety barrier,” Grunwald says. Linseisen informs his
colleagues in the safety centre. From this moment, the radius of the
secured zone is drawn even wider than before. The control room is
now cut off from the outside world – only voice communications with
the safety centre and fire brigade remain. It gets even quieter in the
control room. Hardly any words are exchanged across the room.
Rather, everyone is wearing headphones with radio communication.
Separated only by a thin wall, in the control room next door, sits the
team responsible for the steam generator system, which will develop
the necessary vacuum conditions just before engine ignition. The
telephone between test director Stefan Grunwald and ‘chronicler’
Manuel Müller is off the hook. During the hot phase of the test, no
telephone ringing should disturb people’s concentration or the
procedure.

System against damaging vibrations

Before the test run is initiated, the system that is used to induce a
simulated vibration onto the oxygen column within the feed line is
checked once more. In the worst case, such so-called Pogo oscillations
could occur in the resonant frequency range of the rocket. “This
could destroy the entire rocket,” says supervisor Hupertz. Even the
great Saturn V rocket, which later flew the Apollo astronauts to the
Moon, had engine failures due to these vibrations during an
unmanned test flight. The Pogo Suppression Device (PSD), which
should dampen the artificially induced vibrations in the engine above
the LOX turbopump, could later ensure that the Ariane 6 will not
have problems with this.

Delayed start-up

It is just minutes after 14:00. The 20-minute warning is heard from
loudspeakers across the entire site. But it will not be 20 minutes – the
hot run will not start for 25 minutes. The cooling criteria are only
reached after a few additional minutes. On the following day, in the
team session with the client, these deviations will be discussed in
order to set different, optimised conditions for the next test, if necessary.
The cameras now only send images from an abandoned test
stand to the screens. The only people in the immediate vicinity of the
test stand, with the engine ready for ignition, are sitting in the
protected control room. The exchange of questions and answers
starts once again. “Pressure in the vacuum chamber?” “32 millibars”
“Mass spectrometer, close valves for the hot run!” “Closed.”
The steam generators are started. On the screen, the test stand is
cloaked in more and more clouds. A muffled rumbling sound can be
heard from outside. Just a few seconds until the large vacuum control
valve is opened – and the engine can ignite. The countdown clock
over the screens jumps to zero, the engine is running in the vacuum
chamber, and the camera image changes colour – from black to
bright red. “No alarms so far.” The nozzle glows in the hot run for 10
minutes. “OK, engine cut-off,” Grunwald calls. On the screen, the
nozzle slowly darkens again.

Dealing with the unexpected

Just two minutes pass between the first and second ignitions. The
atmosphere in the control room remains tense. “Now the second
ignition ...” Grunwald’s voice is hesitant. If it takes place at all.
The planned second ignition does not happen. All eyes turn to
the measured values. No one can intervene now. Two minutes
pass – the hissing of the steam generators from outside fades and
the white cloud around the test stand slowly dissipates. Even
though the second ignition has failed, the test continues with the
planned free-flight phase and a re-cooling of the engine. It will
take about one and a half hours before the next phase starts
again at the consoles. Meanwhile, in the next room a discussion
about why the planned ignition did not take place is going on. “It
could be, for example, that the parameters for the test sequence
could not be realised for technical reasons,” Grunwald says. “The
analysis of the measured values will show this.”
At 16:35, the next 20-minute warning echoes from the loudspeakers.
Again, the test stand and engine will be cooled and the
steam generators will generate a vacuum. Today’s test will end as
soon as the Vinci engine is ready for a third ignition. Shortly
before the steam generators are supposed to start, a message
from the neighbouring control room comes through the headphones:
“We have a problem with the tank pressurisation.” The
options are clear: The steam generator team could leave the
control room once again and fix the problem on site. But that
would prolong the current coast phase. And it is not certain that
the steam generators will run. The test director nods briefly and
decides with the client: The free-flight phase will be simulated as
planned – should the steam generator not run, this would not be
decisive for the desired measurement data. Finally, the last warning
– the one-minute warning – inundates the site. And the hissing of the
steam generators starts again. “Well, it is working as planned after
all,” murmurs Ralf Hupertz.

Measurement data for the future

Felix Löhr, who is responsible for running of the automatic sequences,
looks at his screen. “LH2 is already cold.” In the chronology, Manuel
Müller is almost on the last page, checking off items, one by one.
“LOX has met two of three cooling criteria.” When the liquid oxygen
has also reached the prescribed temperature, Stefan Grunwald looks
up. “OK, then the test ends here.” The noise of the steam generators
subsides. At 17:18, the main test run is complete. All that remains is
the decommissioning of the individual test stand systems as well as
the reconditioning of the engine, which will take another 1.5 hours.
Thousands of measurement values will be analysed and evaluated on
the following day. ‘After the test’ is immediately ‘before the test’
because each result flows into the next test run. A new Vinci engine
is expected to be installed in the test stand in December 2016 – one
that will be very similar to the engine that the Ariane 6 will launch
with in 2020. The changes that come from the tested development
engine will be based mainly on one thing: today’s results from the
DLR P4.1 test stand.
---------------------------
Ralf
*** AD ASTRA PER ASPERA ***

Offline DT1

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #129 on: 12/05/2016 09:21 pm »
News about testing Vinci for Ariane 6 in the current DLR magazine
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/Portaldata/1/Resources/documents/dlr_magazin_152/DLR_Magazine_151-152_GB.pdf


LAUNCH INTO SPACE WITH A
DOWN-TO-EARTH ATTITUDE

Report on engine test for future space launch vehicle Ariane 6
By Manuela Braun



Images from the article
---------------------------
Ralf
*** AD ASTRA PER ASPERA ***

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #130 on: 12/29/2016 11:19 am »
Expander-cycle Technology Integrated Demonstrator

Development of the Expander-cycle Technology Integrated Demonstrator (ETID) began mid-2013. It is a major constituent of the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) and prepares competitive evolutions of upper stage propulsion for Ariane 6 and Vega by assembling technologies that pave the way for the next generation of cryogenic upper stage engines in Europe.

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/11/Expander-cycle_Technology_Integrated_Demonstrator

Image credit: Airbus Defence & Space

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #131 on: 01/20/2017 03:40 pm »
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/01/Artist_s_view_of_the_two_configurations_of_Ariane_6

Artist's view of the two configurations of Ariane 6 using two boosters (A62) or four boosters (A64).

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #132 on: 01/23/2017 04:27 pm »
« Last Edit: 01/23/2017 04:28 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Online catdlr

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #133 on: 01/23/2017 08:16 pm »
Ariane 6

European Space Agency, ESA

Published on Jan 23, 2017
Decided in Luxemburg by the European Space Agency council meeting at Ministerial level, Ariane 6 is a modular three-stage launcher (solid–cryogenic–cryogenic) with two configurations using: four boosters (A64) or two boosters (A62).



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Offline woods170

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #134 on: 01/24/2017 10:39 am »
Wow that is so awesome stuff to see. What a good looking 🚀 😊

Remember, this is the UPDATES thread. Please move any comments, remarks, etc. to the DISCUSSION thread. Thank you.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #135 on: 01/27/2017 02:07 pm »
Quote
Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  14m14 minutes ago

 MT Aerospace completes Ariane 6 launch pad mechanical structures PDR, part of Oct 2016 EUR 23M contract w/ CNES, Ariane 6 launch pad prime.

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/824993010949701632

Offline Lsquirrel

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Offline russianhalo117

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Offline Rik ISS-fan

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #138 on: 03/06/2017 04:03 pm »
Avio started production of the first P120C (P142/ESR)
Twitter image

And @19:30 - 21:15 in the Arianespace Flight VV09 / Sentinel-2B launch video
« Last Edit: 03/07/2017 07:03 pm by Rik ISS-fan »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #139 on: 03/08/2017 09:49 pm »
Oops, not great news:

Quote
@Arianespace CEO Israel says Ariane 6 will cost 'approx 40% less than Ariane 5.' Used to be a 50% reduction.#SATShow

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/839593074066141185

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