Press Release N°42-2016 Paris, 14 November Media backgrounder: ESA’s Ministerial 2016 in Lucerne [...]Goal: foster a globally competitive European space sector Target amount: €1.5 billion Concerted measures that foster the European space sector into becoming wholly competitive in the global market are also about enabling and implementing new cooperation methods between traditional, new and emerging actors, about new working methods in line with Industry 4.0 and about pushing for a self-sustaining and commercially competitive European space industrial base open and easily accessible to other European sectors, which it helps to make profitable. This calls for broadening the base of industrial actors through the emergence of new players, including small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), calls for implementing public–private partnerships (PPPs) in areas in which these have to date seen only public financing, calls for clearer and stronger connections between the space and non-space sectors to allow for spin-ins and –offs, and for complementary activities. ESA intends to address all of the above by: •supporting the growth and networking of SMEs, through the SME Initiative, which helps to widen the base of actors and increase the dynamic nature of the space field; •extending PPPs to the Earth observation area through InCubed (Earth Watch) to stimulate Europe’s Earth observation industry to develop innovative technologies and services for commercialisation in the new Space 4.0 environment; •stimulating the first European commercial partnership(s) in space exploration, drawing on the group of innovative ideas already proposed by industry through commercial partnerships within the European Exploration Envelope Programme (E3P); •coordinating space technology planning of ESA, EU and Member States with industry and other stakeholders through the establishment of technology roadmaps through technology harmonisation; •providing support to the establishment and maintenance of standards for the space sector through standardisation; •preparing future initiatives and developing competitive technologies and products for telecommunication and thus directly supporting industry competitiveness through the Future Preparation and Core Competitiveness Elements; •providing extended geographical coverage and service enhancement of the European Data Relay Satellite System (EDRS), currently under development and opening new market opportunities for optical communication technologies, through the continuation of the EDRS-GlobeNet programme; •developing optical communication technologies to address future markets with ScyLight, which will also address quantum scamgraphy and other new applications; •supplying a validated satellite-based communication solution for the European Air Traffic Management System, through Iris; •supporting and enabling the development, qualification and demonstration in orbit of next-generation platform lines, allowing European prime satellite integrators already established in the 3–6 tonne launch mass segment to address future satellite operators’ needs through Neosat; •supporting the development, launch and validation in orbit of a satellite system based on an innovative geostationary platform in the 3 tonne launch mass range, using all-electric propulsion for transfer to geostationary orbit and for stationkeeping, through Electra; •supporting the design and development of the innovative elements that will contribute to an optimised delivery of future mobile satellite communication services, through ICE, Inmarsat Communications Evolution project; •supporting the development, launch and validation in orbit of an innovative Ka- and V-band satellite system, through Lynxsat; •supporting European satellite ground segment industry to develop, validate and roll out innovative ground segment solutions, through Aidan; •supporting the development of streamlined microsatellites towards reduced recurring cost for serial production by supporting space-based tracking of seafaring vessels beyond coastal areas that are equipped with AIS (Automatic Identification System) tracking devices through SAT-AIS missions and other applications and by addressing other opportunities offered by small LEO constellations high-performance ship detection capabilities; •facilitating the transfer of technologies and knowhow developed at ESA into diverse non-space fields (spin-off) and supporting the local Business Incubator Centres in Member States, through the Technology Transfer and Incubation Programme (TTP); •preparing Europe for independent routine access and return from LEO with a reusable system able to transport payloads for several different applications through Space Rider (based on Vega C), and activities involving Dream Chaser (based on Ariane 64); •providing low-cost launch services for light and small satellites based on Ariane 6 and Vega with the Light satellite, Low-cost Launch (LLL) initiative. [...]
CM16 the #IXV follow-on #SpaceRider has received 43 mil. euro funding upto CDR (funding more then 60% reached) launch in 2020/2021
DutchSpace @DutchSpace 8m8 minutes agoOhh, i'm liking this updated image..... #SpaceRider #IXV
LE BOURGET, FRANCE — Although Europe’s Space Rider reusable spaceplane is three years or so from its debut, the European Space Agency is already making plans to privatize the unmanned orbital vehicle.By 2025, ESA officials said, Space Rider could be operating commercially, flying science payloads and bringing them back to Earth for roughly $9,200 per kilogram.Arianespace, the Evry, France-based launch services provider, would likely serve as Space Rider’s operator, offering industry and government customers the opportunity to fill the spaceplane 800-kilogram payload capacity with microgravity science, materials testing, telecommunications and robotics demonstrations.<--- SNIP---> [more at Spacenews.com]
How could Space Rider operate commercially if they're charging less than $10k/kg of payload? Wouldn't it need to charge more than 5 times that much?
Quote from: gongora on 06/25/2017 03:10 pmHow could Space Rider operate commercially if they're charging less than $10k/kg of payload? Wouldn't it need to charge more than 5 times that much?Most basic 1U volume rideshare service. Cube up and down, passive payload. Add power and date for more advanced payloads and you can multiply the cost possibly an order of magnitude.I guess the cost per mission (800kg payload) is in the order of 50-100mln.
From EUCASS2017, found something that should be right up Rik ISS-fan's alley (and others too of course, it's an interesting read)
If I'm not mistaken, SpaceRider will launch on Vega-C or Ariane 62; IXV launched on Vega. All three launchers have different fairing diameters (Vega 2.6m, Vega-C 3.3m, A62 5.4m outer diameter)The baseline is a reuse of the IXV vehicle shape, so I wonder if they are going to use the Vega fairing on Vega-C when launching SpaceRider or if they are going to use the larger fairing. The advantaged of using the smaller fairing is that it weights less so the vehicle mass might be higher.When using the larger fairing a lot of volume won't be used.
ESA signed two contracts today with Italy’s ELV and Thales Alenia Space to extend Europe’s Vega space system capabilities and competitiveness, and develop Space Rider for payload return capability.
... Thales Alenia Space and ELV will complete the detailed mission and system design up to the Critical Design Review for Space Rider.The Space Rider space transportation system will be integrated with Vega-C, combining an Orbital Service Module derived from a Vega-C AVUM and a reentry module derived from the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) demonstrator flown in 2015 on Vega.It will provide Europe with an affordable reusable platform for routine access and return from space, with payloads capacity up to 800 kg to an array of orbit altitudes and inclinations for multiple applications such as advanced microgravity, in-orbit demonstration and validation for Earth observation, science, telecommunication and robotic exploration.
The contract for Space Rider activities worth €36.7 million was signed by ESA Director of Space Transportation Daniel Neuenschwander, Thales Alenia Space Vice President Domain Exploration and Science Walter Cugno, and ELV Managing Director Andrea Preve at ESA headquarters in Paris.
Today, Avio signed two contracts with ESA, the European Space Agency, in Paris to develop the Vega E launcher and the Space Rider re-entry vehicle, in line with market expectations. The contracts are worth a total of €89.7 million.
Space Rider is a re-entry vehicle, the evolution of the IXV (Intermediate Experimental Vehicle, launched by Vega in February 2015), capable of ‘navigating’ up to 2 months in low Earth orbit before returning to earth. Re-entry enables the recovery of all the useful load that can be analysed, and the vehicle to be reused for a new mission. The contract signed by ESA with Avio and TAS-I (Thales Alenia Space Italia) is worth a total of €36.7 million for the development of the Space Rider system, consisting of two modules: AOM (Avum Orbital Module) and RM (Re-entry Module). Avio will handle the development of AOM, a specific version of AVUM (fourth stage of the VEGA C) capable of supplying power and services for controlling the vehicle’s re-entry attitude during the orbital stage.