Author Topic: ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites  (Read 5644 times)

Offline mupp

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Via Satellite 12-02-2015] The French Office National d’Etudes et Recherches Aerospatiales (ONERA) is leading a study with partners in six European nations on the feasibility of a low cost system for launching small satellites. The three-year research program, known as the Air Launch space Transportation using an Automated aircraft and an Innovative Rocket (ALTAIR) project is under the European Union H2020 research and innovation program, and has the goal of demonstrating the industrial practicality of a launcher for 50 to 150 kg satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) altitudes between 400 and 1,000 kilometers.

ALTAIR will use a semi‐reusable “air launch” system, whose carrier will be a reusable automated aircraft, releasing an expendable launch vehicle at high altitude. The launch system is expected to use environmentally friendly hybrid propulsion, advanced lightweight composite structures, avionics and an upper stage providing mission versatility. The architecture of the ground systems will also target cost‐effective operations.

At the conclusion of the study, ONERA and partners are to produce a detailed definition of the complete system — carrier, launcher and ground segment — along with a business plan, a development road map and an industrial organization proposal. The ONERA-developed Eole demonstrator is to perform flight tests in order to validate key technologies, including the launcher avionics and its release sequence.

ONERA’s partners for the ALTAIR project include the French Space Agency (CNES) and French company Bertin Technologies, along with Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace, GTD Sistemas de Informacion of Spain, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, NAMMO Raufoss in Norway, and SpaceTec Partners of Belgium.

http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2015/12/02/europe-to-study-semi-reusable-launcher-for-small-satellites/

Offline NovaSilisko

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Re: ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites
« Reply #1 on: 12/03/2015 09:02 pm »
Oh god, another smallsat launcher?

Offline pippin

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ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites
« Reply #2 on: 12/03/2015 09:49 pm »
No, just a budget position to finance a study.

Edit: initial post sounded too negative. It can make sense to do studies from time to time to keep up with new developments, even if nothing really comes out of them except for keeping your supplier base up to date.
« Last Edit: 12/03/2015 09:51 pm by pippin »

Offline NovaSilisko

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Re: ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites
« Reply #3 on: 12/03/2015 09:51 pm »
No, just a budget position to finance a study.

...for yet another smallsat launcher...
« Last Edit: 12/04/2015 01:34 am by NovaSilisko »

Offline edkyle99

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Re: ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites
« Reply #4 on: 12/04/2015 02:37 am »
No, just a budget position to finance a study.

...for yet another smallsat launcher...
Yet another?  There are hardly any.  Super Strypi is one, but it flew once and failed and will likely never be seen again.  Pegasus and Minotaur 1 seem both on zombie status in recent years.  Safir and Shavit 2 are rarer and government-only.  Unha is behind the Korean DMZ.  All of these together have reached orbit only 36 times since 2000, inclusive.  25 of those were by Minotaur 1 and Pegasus, but those two rockets have only flown 5 times since 2010 inclusive and not at all since 2013.

 - Ed Kyle

Offline pippin

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Re: ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites
« Reply #5 on: 12/04/2015 04:48 am »
Plenty of launchers for so few launches, I'd say...

Offline NovaSilisko

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Offline QuantumG

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Re: ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites
« Reply #7 on: 12/06/2015 12:10 am »
This is the normal way things develop - many startups, lots of failures, a few winners, market growth, consolidation, maturity. If they develop at all.. sometimes there's no winners, sometimes there's no growth.
Human spaceflight is basically just LARPing now.

Offline plutogno

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Re: ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites
« Reply #8 on: 12/06/2015 09:31 am »
looks like it's based on the Eole study of a few years ago
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9228922@N03/5884767991/in/album-72157627078250000/

Offline Rik ISS-fan

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Re: ALTAIR Semi-Reusable Launcher for Small Satellites
« Reply #9 on: 04/09/2016 04:32 pm »
Horizon 2020 Project ALTAIR; Project page
update: article A, article B

I'm currently testing how long it takes before NSF picks up some news from Europe. The first thing was spotted today (1Feb 2018) the counter is now on three days.
« Last Edit: 02/01/2018 11:15 am by Rik ISS-fan »

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