ESA - Ariane 6 Updates

[jacqmans]

Hot firing of Ariane 6's P120C motor

The second qualification model of the P120C solid rocket motor, configured for Ariane 6, completed its hot firing on 7 October 2020 in a final test to prove its readiness for flight.

Depending on the configuration, two or four P120C motors, developed in Europe, will be strapped onto the sides of the future Ariane 6

launch vehicle as boosters for liftoff. The P120C will also be used as the first stage of Vega-C.

After it was fully loaded with 142 tonnes of fuel, the 13.5 m long and 3.4 m diameter motor was ignited to simulate liftoff and the first phase of flight.

The motor burned for 130 seconds and delivered a maximum thrust of about 4500 kN. The test was performed at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, and was completed with no anomalies.

ESA, France’s CNES space agency, and Europropulsion which is jointly owned by Avio and ArianeGroup, collaborated on this test.

Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique vidéo du CSG - JM Guillon

[eeergo]

https://twitter.com/thivallee/status/1314253165194342405

[Steven Pietrobon]

Translation and photo.

"Not to mention the inside!
The technical qualification of the installations continues with a new presentation of the model of the central body of @Ariane6 on its launch table, between the 2 ESRs."

[eeergo]

Upper stage spotted!

https://twitter.com/DutchSpace/status/1319214279996952576

[GWH]

Video showing the mating of the two tank assemblies. Full of detailed views of hardware:

https://www.ariane.group/en/news/video-assembly-of-the-first-ariane-6-upper-stage/

[Hobbes-22]

ArianeGroup is proposing a kick stage to be added on top of the second stage.

The kick stage is an additional stage positioned on top of Ariane 6’s upper stage, which will allow the rocket to place several satellites into different orbits in a single launch, or to inject a satellite directly into its final orbit, optimizing a wide scope of missions.

Proposed missions:
- interplanetary
- dual GEO launch: the first passenger is dropped off in GTO, the second gets delivered into GEO by the kickstage. For this purpose the kickstage can be installed on top of the SYLDA (dual-launch adapter).
- multi-plane launches for constellations



The stage will use a new reignitable storable propellant engine called BERTA.

The kick stage solution and the BERTA engine are proposals made by ArianeGroup GmbH to the European Space Agency (ESA) in the framework of the Astris System Development and Qualification Programme

This is the first I've heard of this, but apparently the program has been running for a while. The engine was tested last year.

I've added some screenshots from the video.

[Hobbes-22]

I've found references to the BERTA engine as far back as 2011, as part of studies for a new upper stage for Vega to replace the Russian engine on the AVUM stage.

I don't know yet what the final conclusion of those studies was, but for now Vega-C seems to be proceeding with an upgraded AVUM+, still with a Russian engine.

Space 19+ mentions BERTA:

For resilience in view of 2022 milestone, help prepare our sector to deliver end to end Space Transportation services.
At Space19+ three objectives:
1. Mid/Long-term competitiveness improvement of launch services for institutional missions:
Prometheus, ETID, Avionics, Themis/Reusability, Advanced Technologies...
2. Increase of the versatility of Space Transportation:
Space Logistics, Kick Stage, Green Propulsion/Berta, Advanced Technologies, In Space PoC mission...

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1321852153149968384

Joining a call with Jan Wörner, ESA Director General, and Daniel Neuenschwander, Director for Space Transportation, to discuss a potential delay for the debut of the Ariane 6 rocket.

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1321854958661152770

ESA will ask member states for an additional 230 million euros to pay for Ariane 6 development, above existing budgets. Now targeting 2022 for debut launch of the new rocket.

[zubenelgenubi]

ESA lays out roadmap to Vega-C and Ariane 6 flights, dated October 29

Ariane 6

ESA, CNES and ArianeGroup have jointly established a consolidated reference planning for Ariane 6 development and are working as an integrated team in their respective roles to make it happen. This schedule is based on analysis of recent achievements, remaining critical milestones and the impact on the programme caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the successful third static fire test of the P120C solid rocket motor on 7 October, all the propulsion elements of the launcher system have completed their qualification tests.

At Europe’s Spaceport, activities for the finalisation of the Ariane 6 launch base are progressing. First integration testing with fullscale ‘mock-ups’ of the P120C strap-on booster and of Ariane 6’s central core took place in the new mobile gantry. Testing of the cryogenic arms that link the launch pad and the launch vehicle are also ongoing at Fos-sur-Mer in France, before shipping to French Guiana.

ArianeGroup is completing the challenging development and qualification of the Ariane 6 Auxiliary Power Unit for the upper stage. This device will allow Europe to offer additional capabilities in satellite deployment for the satellite constellation market.

The first Ariane 6 upper stage has been assembled in Bremen, Germany. Coupling the launcher’s tanks with the equipped engine bay of the re-ignitable Vinci engine for the first time. The upper stage is currently undergoing mechanical, fluid and electrical tests, before leaving for further tests at the DLR German Aerospace Center’s Lampoldshausen facilities in Germany.

There, the complete stage will be hot fire tested on a new test bench specially developed by DLR for the Ariane 6 upper stage. The Ariane 6 upper stage static fire tests are planned to start in the second quarter of 2021.

In parallel, the first Ariane 6 core stage and the second Ariane 6 upper stage are under preparation. These specimen will be shipped to Europe’s Spaceport from Les Mureaux (France) and Bremen (Germany) respectively, for the combined tests campaign. 

In the third quarter of 2021, the Ariane 6 launch base will be handed over from CNES to ESA. At this point the Ariane 6 combined tests campaign can start. These series of tests will bring the launch vehicle and launch base together for the first time for integrated tests of multiple systems. This will include a static fire test of Ariane 6 while standing on the launch pad for the first time.

Following the successful combined test campaign and Ground qualification review of the launch system, the first launch campaign, with the integration of the maiden flight hardware, will start.

When all these steps are successfully completed Ariane 6 will be in a position to perform its maiden flight in the second quarter of 2022.

Ariane 6 is a project managed and funded by the European Space Agency. ArianeGroup is design authority and industrial prime contractor for the launcher system. The French space agency CNES is prime contractor for the development of the Ariane 6 launch base at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Arianespace commercialises Ariane 6.

[GWR64]

ESA lays out roadmap to Vega-C and Ariane 6 flights, dated October 29

[zubenelgenubi]

ESA requests 230 million euros more for Ariane 6 as maiden flights slips to 2022, dated October 29

During an Oct. 29 briefing following the 291st ESA Council held over the last two days [article submitted from Valetta, Malta], Daniel Neuenschwander, director for space transportation at ESA:

...the 230 million euros in additional funding requested by ESA is a 6% increase in the development cost of Ariane 6. This puts the total cost of development at over 3.8 billion euros ($4.4 billion), significantly more than the approximately $400 million spent to develop the SpaceX Falcon 9 against which the Ariane 6 will compete.

ESA hopes to secure the additional funding for development of the Ariane 6 within the next few months.

***

Re: early Ariane 6 flight schedule, also from the article:
Flight 1, A62     Q2 2022     Payload was to be 30 OneWeb satellites; Arianespace received partial payment before the bankruptcy filing.  Payload options are being actively investigated.

Flight 2, A62                      Galileo satellite [I thought it was 2 Galileo satellites.]

Flight 3, A64                      Payload not named.  [Perhaps Eutelsat Hotbird 13F, Eutelsat Hotbird 13G from our launch schedule thread.]
***

Seeking correction or clarification.

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/Ariane6/status/1326084618626457600?s=20

[hektor]

Europe's New Space Rocket Is Incredibly Expensive

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/esa/status/1326901446625939457?s=20

[jacqmans]

Ariane 6 launch complex – December 2020
12/01/2021

Tour the Ariane 6 launch complex at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The 8200 tonne 90 metre-high mobile gantry has platforms to enable engineers to access the vehicle for integration of the stages. This steel structure protects Ariane 6 before launch and is rolled back prior to liftoff.

At the entrance of the gantry are two mockup Ariane 6 P120C rocket boosters. These are representative of the real boosters, having the same size and mass but filled with water instead of solid propellant and used in mechanical tests.

The hydrogen and oxygen storage facilities are close by. Underground, engineers are preparing the launch support systems.

A pumping station at the reservoir will supply the water to quell the exhaust at liftoff.

[jacqmans]

Ariane 6 upper stage heads for hot-firing tests

29/01/2021

The first complete upper stage of Europe’s new Ariane 6 launch vehicle has left ArianeGroup in Bremen and is now on its way to the DLR German Aerospace Center in Lampoldshausen, Germany. Hot firing tests performed in near-vacuum conditions, mimicking the environment in space, will provide data to prove its readiness for flight.


Integrated in October last year at ArianeGroup in Bremen, Germany, this ‘hot-firing model’ of the complete upper stage is fully operational having undergone extensive functional tests. Its new reignitable Vinci engine is connected to two liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks and is equipped with all lines, valves and electronic and hydraulic instrumentation and control systems.

On board a barge departing from Neustadt port in Bremen on 29 January, the upper stage will journey to BadWimpfen and then be taken by road to Lampoldshausen. The DLR German Aerospace Center has already tested Ariane 6’s Vinci engine and Vulcain 2.1 liquid propulsion engines.

The complete upper stage will be installed on the new P5.2 test stand. Inside this facility all aspects of the flight are simulated including stage preparation such as the fuelling or draining of its tanks. The building has platforms that give engineers access to all parts of the stage. After final preparations, a countdown marks the start of the test.


Operations inside the P5.2 testing facility are monitored from a remote central control room. During this campaign of tests, the Vinci engine will be ignited up to four times in order to gather data describing the behaviour of the whole upper stage when the Vinci engine is running.

Tests will also provide data on non-propulsive ballistic phases, tank pressurisation to increase performance, Vinci reignitions, exhaust nozzle manoeuvres, ending with passivation where all remaining internal energy is removed.

Weekly tests will typically last 18 hours each.


“We have reached another milestone in the Ariane 6 roadmap to flight. Seeing the elements of Ariane 6 coming together is very exciting. With the upcoming hot-firing tests of the complete upper stage we will gain valuable insights into the technical heart of this new European launch vehicle,” commented Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Space Transportation.

Karl-Heinz Servos, COO at ArianeGroup, added: “Completion of this stage for the first hot-fire tests is a major step for Ariane 6, for Germany and for European space as a whole.”

Walther Pelzer, Head of the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), commented: “With the first Ariane 6 upper stage hot-fire testing at the new P5.2 test facility at the DLR site at Lampoldshausen, we are now one more vital step closer to Ariane 6’s maiden flight.”

Meanwhile, a further two Ariane 6 complete upper stages are being integrated by ArianeGroup. The Combined Tests Model is intended for tests of the launch vehicle and the launch base at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, and the Flight Model 1 is intended for the inaugural flight of Ariane 6.

Ariane 6 will be capable of carrying out all types of missions to all orbits thanks to its multiple reignition capability and modular design. With two versions: Ariane 62, fitted with two P120C boosters, and Ariane 64, with four, this new launch vehicle further extends and secures Europe’s independent access to space.

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Ariane/Ariane_6_upper_stage_heads_for_hot-firing_tests

[jacqmans]

Ariane 6 complete upper stage

28/01/2021

Integrated in October last year at ArianeGroup in Bremen, Germany, this ‘hot-firing model’ of the complete Ariane 6 upper stage is fully operational having undergone extensive functional tests. Its new reignitable Vinci engine is connected to two liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks and is equipped with all lines, valves and electronic and hydraulic instrumentation and control systems.

[jacqmans]

Ariane 6 complete upper stage
28/01/2021

Integrated in October 2020 at ArianeGroup in Bremen, Germany, this ‘hot-firing model’ of the complete Ariane 6 upper stage is fully operational having undergone extensive functional tests. Its new reignitable Vinci engine is connected to two liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks and is equipped with all lines, valves and electronic and hydraulic instrumentation and control systems.

[jacqmans]

Ariane 6 upper stage heads for hot-firing tests
28/01/2021

The first complete upper stage of Europe’s new Ariane 6 launch vehicle was packed into a container at ArianeGroup in Bremen for its journey to the DLR German Aerospace Center in Lampoldshausen, Germany. Hot firing tests performed in near-vacuum conditions, mimicking the environment in space, will provide data to prove its readiness for flight.

[Rik ISS-fan]

So finally some progress on the development of Ariane 6. The ULPM qualification at the P5.2 bench at Lampoldshausen was initially planned for the first quarter of 2020. So it's a year late.
I've not found a good explanation for the year delay. Any sources on this?

Edit to add: Link to Arianegroup:  ARIANE 6: FIRST UPPER STAGE READY FOR HOT-FIRE TESTING

And the tweet from Arianegroup with the video that was also on their website.
https://twitter.com/ArianeGroup/status/1355074435468963840