ArianeGroup to start production of the first Ariane 62

With the successful conclusion of Maturity Gate 6.2, ArianeGroup and its industrial partners are moving into an important new phase in the development of Ariane 6, a flagship European Space Agency (ESA) program. This review confirmed that the industrial process of Ariane 6 is mature enough to start construction of the first launcher, in line with the program's objectives. Ariane 6 is specifically designed to be able to respond to evolving market demands. It will be a versatile, modular, competitive launcher, available in two versions, Ariane 62 and Ariane 64, in order to guarantee the continuity of European access to space. "Starting the production of the first launcher just three years after the decision of ESA Member States to launch the Ariane 6 program in December 2014 is a major step forward," said Alain Charmeau, CEO of ArianeGroup. "This once again demonstrates the efficiency of the industrial process put in place for the development, production and operation of Ariane 6. The industry is thus meeting its commitments to serve all future Ariane 6 customers, in ESA-coordinated national and European institutions, which are currently preparing the operational launch phase with our subsidiary, Arianespace".

This milestone follows on from Maturity Gate 6.1 last April, which validated the technical, industrial and programming characteristics of Ariane 6, enabling launcher development to continue at the anticipated rate. The positive conclusion of this milestone thus made it possible to launch the production of the Ariane 6 ground qualification models.

At the same time, the European Space Agency is preparing to put the launcher into operation. A review called "Exploitation Readiness Key Point" (ERKP) analyzes in detail all the aspects associated with the commercialization and mass production of Ariane 6 launchers. The conclusions are expected in March 2018.

As the industrial lead contractor for development and operation of the Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 launchers, ArianeGroup coordinates an industrial network of more than 600 companies in 13 European countries, including more than 350 Small and Medium Enterprises. The ArianeGroup subsidiary Arianespace is responsible for the commercialization of Ariane 6.

ArianeGroup signs contract with ESA for future Prometheus engine

Prometheus is a European demonstrator for a very low cost reusable engine, running on liquid oxygen (LOx) and methane. It is the precursor for future European launcher engines as of 2030. The aim is to be able to build future liquid propellant engines with a unit cost of about 1 million euros, or 10 times less than the cost of producing existing engines such as the Vulcain2. The success of this type of technological challenge demands an entirely new approach and the use of innovative design and production methods and toolsApart from switching from the traditional Ariane propellant (transition from the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen combination to a combination of liquid oxygen and methane), the demonstrator will entail major developments, including digitilization of engine control and diagnostics, and manufacturing using 3D printing in a connected factory environment. The 75 million euro contract signed by Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Space Transportation at the European Space Agency (ESA), and Alain Charmeau, CEO of ArianeGroup, the 50/50 joint-venture set up by the Airbus and Safran groups, covers the design, manufacturing and testing of the first two examples of the Prometheus demonstrator.

The French space agency (CNES) is leading in the early design process, and testing is scheduled on the P5 test bed of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Lampoldshausen, Germany, as of 2020.

"The development of Ariane 6 is ontrack, with a first flight scheduled for 2020. This new Prometheus contract with the European Space Agency is paving the way for the future of European launchers, with the goal of designing and building a reusable engine for one tenth the cost of today's Vulcain2 type engines. I therefore thank ESA and the Member States for their contribution and their confidence in entrusting us with the development of the European technology of tomorrow."

Following the initial phase which was completed in early December, the first Program Review confirmed the consistency of the design choices with engine specifications and in particular with the recurring cost targets. At the same time, subsystems testing has started with the gas generator campaign (one of the parts built using 3D printing) on the DLR's P8 test bed in Lampoldshausen.