Aircraft

The new liquid-oxygen/liquid-hydrogen-fuelled Vinci upper-stage engine now being developed for the Arianespace Ariane 5 launcher has been successfully re-ignited.

The test, carried out at the German DLR aerospace research site in Lampoldshausen, demonstrated the engine’s in-flight restartability feature.

Vinci uses new technologies including an expander cycle that promises higher performance than the current Ariane 5 engines’ gas generator cycle. It also has an extendible ceramic matrix composites nozzle.

Part of the European Space Agency’s Future Launcher Preparatory Programme, Vinci is rated at 39,650lb thrust (175kN) in a vacuum and is intended for the next Ariane 5 upgrade.

“We are very pleased with the success of this first Vinci re-ignition test,” says Snecma’s space engines division’s vice-president and general manager, Jacques Serre. Snecma is the industrial prime contractor for the Vinci project and is working with EADS Astrium, Avio and Volvo Aero.

Previous Vinci engine tests have involved its combustion chamber and turbopumps, aided start-up transient studies and demonstrated steady-state engine operation for more than 350s, which is about half of the planned flight time. Further tests are planned for two demonstration engines later this year.

Vinci was initially intended for an Ariane 5 ECB variant with 12,000kg (26,430lb) to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) capability, but resources were diverted to complete the de­velopment of the 9,000kg-to-GTO ECA variant following a failure on its maiden flight in 2002.