Even before the first commercial Ariane 5 booster has been launched this summer on flight 504, the European Space Agency (ESA) is looking towards its replacement by a new vehicle in 2015.
The development of the new reusable or partly reusable launcher will begin in 2007, after a detailed Phase A/B technical study.
The Phase A study will be complete by 2001 in time to be cleared by the next council of ministers meeting, approving Phase B work.
"Reusable is the key word," says Marco Caporicci, head of the future programmes and technology office in ESA's directorate of launchers. But "the whole vehicle will not necessarily be reusable", he says.
Technologies such as air breathing engines or scramjets have been eliminated. "You don't jump from an expendable Ariane 5 to an SSTO," Caporicci said.
Workable
"We do not believe that we can reach a level of a fully workable scramjet by 2007." The first high-speed airbreathing vehicles are more likely to be military planes, says Caporicci.
The most likely approach in ESA's Future Launcher Technology Programme (FLTP) will be the separate development of types of technologies, such as heat shields, control systems, health monitoring systems, aerodynamics, structures and propulsion. These could be flown before 2001 as flying testbeds as "passengers" on ESA Ariane or other launcher flights.
The ministers will be presented with a proposal for an experiment test vehicle, EXTV, based on those technologies.
The EXTV could be designed, developed and flown to achieve re-use experience and technology evaluation.
At the same time, the technology development work will continue on the ground until its maturity is sufficient for a launcher development decision in 2007.
Source: Flight Daily News