Author Topic: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates  (Read 343253 times)

Offline Mike Jones

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #200 on: 11/23/2017 06:57 am »
This new casing will not fly before 2023 at best on Ariane 6 and Vega-C (P120c SRMs) and the Italians do their best (and have heavy influence within ESA) to avoid that any work share transfer from Avio to MT-A ever occur. So we should not read too much into this news reported by MT-A

Offline woods170

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #201 on: 11/23/2017 07:55 am »
Remember, this is an UPDATES thread.

Any discussions and/or opinions should be taken to the DISCUSSION thread. Thank you.

Offline calapine

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #202 on: 11/24/2017 05:13 pm »
Vulcain 2.1 sitting in Lampoldshausen, waiting for it's first test-firing.

Source

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #203 on: 11/27/2017 03:10 pm »
« Last Edit: 11/27/2017 03:11 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline Rik ISS-fan

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #204 on: 11/29/2017 10:01 am »
This speaks for itself:

And here on ESA's website
« Last Edit: 11/29/2017 10:03 am by Rik ISS-fan »

Offline Rik ISS-fan

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #205 on: 12/08/2017 03:04 pm »

Offline calapine

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #206 on: 12/15/2017 12:35 am »
Euronews report from French Guiana

Length 8:30


Race to build Ariane 6 rocket launch pad

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #207 on: 12/15/2017 12:07 pm »
Quote
The new #Ariane6 mobile gantry being built at #ELA4 is pretty impressive...

https://twitter.com/dutchspace/status/941632494474022912

Offline Rik ISS-fan

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #208 on: 12/15/2017 12:33 pm »
Euronews report from French Guiana

Length 8:30


Race to build Ariane 6 rocket launch pad
And as usual on ESA youtube

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #209 on: 12/22/2017 04:13 pm »
Quote
Had a peek down the new #Ariane6 #ELA4 flame trench being built, impressive... #CSG

https://twitter.com/DutchSpace/status/944254153865428993

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #210 on: 12/22/2017 04:31 pm »
Quote
And another shot from the side, concrete being poured in, cant wait to launch from here, exciting times... #ELA4 #Ariane6 #CSG

https://twitter.com/dutchspace/status/944255229943533569

Offline RotoSequence

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #211 on: 12/25/2017 09:32 pm »
Another spiffy animation posted by Ariane Group, and unusually linked directly in .mp4 form.

https://www.ariane.group/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ariane-6-carianegroup-holding-2017.mp4

Offline Star One

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #212 on: 01/09/2018 08:04 pm »
End signalled for European Ariane 5 rocket

Quote
A final order for a batch of 10 Ariane 5 rockets has been raised.

The vehicle, which has been the mainstay of European launcher activity for the past 20 years, will be phased out once its successor is in place.

ArianeGroup, the French-led industrial consortium, expects its new Ariane 6 to be flying no later than mid-2020, and in full operational service in 2023.

At that point, Ariane 5 can be retired. The last order ensures sufficient rockets are available for the handover.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/science-environment-42623300

Offline Rik ISS-fan

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #213 on: 01/10/2018 10:04 am »

Offline calapine

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #214 on: 01/12/2018 08:52 am »
Lengthy interview by brest.malville.com with Stephane Isreal

The topics discussed - SpaceX, constellations, buy European, etc... - have been raised before, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

Ariane reste "confiant" devant les ambitions de SpaceX

My attempt at translation is here: https://twitter.com/AuerSusan/status/951750445592121344
« Last Edit: 01/12/2018 08:52 am by calapine »

Offline octavo

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #215 on: 01/12/2018 07:32 pm »
Remember, this is an UPDATES thread.

Any discussions and/or opinions should be taken to the DISCUSSION thread. Thank you.
A reminder...

Offline Rik ISS-fan

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #216 on: 01/14/2018 03:59 pm »
Nothing goes above Lego!
twitter ArianeGroup
I had a very good laugh.

On the more serious side: ArianeGroup tweet and Website:
Ariane 6 development has passed maturity gate 6.2 (MG 6.2) in mid. December. Now the construction of the first Ariane 62 can commence.

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #217 on: 01/23/2018 09:35 am »
Quote
Europe's @ArianeGroup says 1st test firing of Ariane 6 main stage Vulcain 2.1 engine concluded successfully in Lampoldshausen, Germany. Test lasted 650 seconds.

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/955732261239959552

Offline calapine

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #218 on: 01/23/2018 10:48 am »
Arianegroup video featuring including footage from the first Vulcain 2.1 test

https://twitter.com/ArianeGroup/status/955748778136436736

Further info via DLR:

- Test campaign will last 7 months
- This engine still had elements of Vulcain 2.0: eg. the pyro ignition system
- This is done to establish a compression base line between 2 and 2.1
- The next test's ignition will be done via propane gas,

German language link:
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10259/369_read-25584/#/gallery/29560

GIF outtake from the video, startup sequence
« Last Edit: 01/23/2018 04:34 pm by calapine »

Online jacqmans

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Re: ESA - Ariane 6 Updates
« Reply #219 on: 01/23/2018 01:33 pm »
Main stage engine for Ariane 6 on the test stand at DLR Lampoldshausen

First ignition for Europe's most powerful rocket engine, the Vulcain 2.1
 
23 January 2018

The new Vulcain 2.1 engine, featuring a 3D-printed gas generator, a redesigned, simplified nozzle and a combustion chamber that can be ignited by the launcher's ground support system will bring the future Ariane 6 launcher to space.

•For the first time, the new Vulcain 2.1 engine was tested for use with the future Ariane 6 European launcher.
•DLR carried out the test in the P5 test rig at the site in Lampoldshausen on behalf of ArianeGroup.
•Focus: Space, space propulsion

The new Vulcain 2.1 engine, which is set to carry the new European launcher Ariane 6 into space in 2020, is intended to achieve greater efficiency at lower costs. However, before such a launch can be successfully carried out, the development engines must prove that they can cope with the enormous 130-ton thrust, temperatures of approximately 3000 degrees Celsius in the combustion chamber, the high rotational speeds of the turbo pumps and the pressure in the propellant lines. On 22 January 2018, engineers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) carried out a first successful test of the engine, developed by the ArianeGroup, on test stand P5 at Lampoldshausen. "We can evaluate the functional capability of the engine for the main stage only by constantly carrying out tests, in which we gradually take steps towards its ultimate use in space," explains Stefan Schlechtriem, Director of the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion. A total of 12 firings are planned for the first test campaign at DLR.

Its predecessor, the Vulcain 2 main stage engine, is currently used on the Ariane 5 launcher and has so far completed 70 successful flights in a row. To create a more cost-effective and efficient generation of engines, Vulcain 2 is being redeveloped into the new Vulcain 2.1 engine, featuring a 3D-printed gas generator, a redesigned, simplified nozzle and a combustion chamber that can be ignited by the launcher's ground support system. Vulcain 2.1 will play a key role in carrying Ariane 6 up to an altitude of 150 kilometres within the first 10 minutes of flight. The DLR test on the Vulcain 2.1 main stage engine lasted 11 minutes, roughly a third longer than the engine would need to carry the Ariane 6 launcher up into space, assisted by solid-propellant boosters.

Step-by-step progress towards the launcher of the future

The decision to develop a new launcher system was taken in December 2014, when the member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) held their Council Meeting at Ministerial Level. They decided to opt for an enhancement of the existing generation of Ariane launchers in order to adapt to growing competition and heightened expectations on the world market. The new launcher was to build upon the existing components of Ariane 5. Depending on the configuration, Ariane 6 will be able to transport a payload of up to 11 tons into space, halving the cost of launches compared to Ariane 5. The new re-ignitable Vinci engine for the upper stage of Ariane 6 has been one of the elements tested at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen since 2005, and now the test runs for the new Vulcain 2.1 main stage engine have been added to the site's portfolio.

Modern test stands for safe and reliable engines

The aim of the seven-month test campaign is to gain a thorough understanding of all key features that distinguish the new main stage engine for the Ariane 6 launcher. "Only those who are fully familiar with these features can adjust the delicate combination of mechanical and electronic components, and thus get the engine to a stage where it is technically mature," stresses Schlechtriem. The first test was based on the Vulcain 2 engine, which has already been developed and is used in the current Ariane model. In this case, all of the pyrotechnical igniters were retained in order to compare the new engine with the older version. For the next test run, the combustion chamber will be ignited from the test stand using propane gas. At the end of the test campaign, the engine will have to successfully complete a final rehearsal on the DLR test stand in its definitive flight configuration.

"Testing is not just about seeing how this technology fares under normal operating conditions. We want to look at how it copes with stresses that go beyond those normally experienced in flight – in other words, at higher temperatures, at high and low combustion chamber pressures and with different fuel mixture ratios," says Anja Frank, Head of the Department of Test Facilities at DLR Lampoldshausen. "We are using the development engine to assess the limits of the Vulcain 2.1."

Data for a reliable engine

The results of the tests carried out by engineers, technicians and test stand workers at the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion will not only be proof of the engine’s functional capabilities, but also a source of a large amount of data. Ultimately, the use of a high-precision measuring and analysis system makes it possible to obtain accurate results and thus allows the ArianeGroup engine developers to draw detailed conclusions about technical issues. The final design of the main stage engine requires a thorough understanding of the pressures and temperatures in the propellant lines, the rotational speeds of the turbo pumps, the pressures in the gas generator and combustion chamber, and the resulting vibrations to which the engine is subjected during a hot run.
Jacques :-)

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