France To Study First Stage Reusability

SpaceX Narrowly Misses Stage Recovery w/ CRS-6 Falcon 9

SpaceX Narrowly Misses Stage Recovery w/ CRS-6 Falcon 9

Europe’s aerospace sector appears to be waking up to the possibility that American companies are on the verge of establishing first stage reusability. In June, Airbus-Safran announced Adeline, an acronym for Advanced Expendable Launcher with Innovative Engine Economy. Adeline is a recoverable first stage propulsion package which would return the engine and avionics of an Ariane 6 to the launch site on short wings and under the power of two turbofan engines.

Adeline on Approach

Adeline on Approach

Since the Adeline proposal. one which which would not see a flight version for at least a decade, Blue Origin has joined SpaceX as the second U.S. company pursuing full first stage reusability for an orbital launch vehicle it recently announced at Cape Canaveral.

Now, CNES, the French space agency has announced in cooperation with Onera, the French aviation laboratory, that it is studying a fully reusable first stage as well.

Paris, 2 October 2015 PR181 – 2015

Reusable launchers

CNES and ONERA working together

Scientific partners since the start of the space endeavour in France and Europe, CNES and ONERA, the French aeronautics, space and defence research laboratory, have decided to join forces to work on a reusable launcher first stage and begin looking at key technical aspects such as recovery, return and maintenance.

This decision is the subject of a letter of intent to establish closer cooperation signed by CNES and ONERA, under the terms of the framework agreement of 30 March 2015. The study will cover two aspects: first, analysis of the launch system during the first stage recovery phase; and second, numerical aerothermodynamics simulations. A preliminary study phase is already underway.

The study started by CNES and ONERA aims to propose engineering solutions for a first launcher stage capable of returning to its launch base. This study will call on CNES and ONERA’s expertise in designing launchers and hypersonic and subsonic vehicles.

ONERA’s benchmark CEDRE software simulation platform for energy and propulsion studies, funded partly by CNES, will be used extensively to evaluate heat flows and aerodynamic forces on the stage during its return phase.

The joint study could become a programme of shared interest as provided for in the framework agreement between the two agencies. The aim is to propose that this collaboration be put on a formal footing during the course of next year.

On this occasion, ONERA Chairman & CEO Bruno Sainjon said: “This initiative, for which ONERA will be engaging its cross-cutting expertise alongside CNES to help define and evaluate the aerospace vehicles and systems of the future, embodies the closer ties that our two agencies are working to forge.”

CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall commented: “In these fiercely competitive times, CNES and ONERA have decided to combine their expertise and get maximum leverage from the cooperation between our two agencies to look at the feasibility of future reusable launchers.”

End release

It will be interesting to see if the cooperative agreement ultimately leads Europe along a development path simialr to that being pursued by SpaceX and Blue Origin, or instead backs a partial solution like that outlined in the Adeline proposal, or United Launch Alliances’s SMART booster recovery concept for the Vulcan booster.

 

 

Last week, ULA essentially said that SpaceX has got its numbers wrong when it comes to the economics of first stage recovery.

In the video,  ULA’s Mohamed Ragab, senior staff engineer for advanced programs observes

“If you work the math, you see that you’re carrying a lot of fuel to be able to bring the booster back and it takes much longer to realize any savings in terms of the number of missions that you have to fly – and they need to be all successful.”

 

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1 Comment on "France To Study First Stage Reusability"

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  1. Christopher Miles says:

    …ULA’s Mohamed Ragab, senior staff engineer for advanced programs observes

    “If you work the math, you see that you’re carrying a lot of fuel to be able to bring the booster back and it takes much longer to realize any savings in terms of the number of missions that you have to fly – and they need to be all successful”

    HAH! Wait ’til ULA runs out of cheap Russian components. Price of American Made anything would probably make re-usability something to consider.

    Additionally,

    1)I think he forgot (on purpose?) the resale/aftermarket of a used Launcher and or its Merlin(s).

    2)Once this tech and process(es) get established, who’s to say this won’t be used in conjunction with larger and more complex boosters

    3)Turnaround flexibility- A crowded launch manifest gets a little wiggle room, should labor issues, new production parts.processes, etc need more tweaking- A few slightly used launchers/Merlins certainly won’t be a bad thing.

    4) It’s a selling point. How many times have we seen and heard Musk say something to the effect of “… you don’t thow away a 747 after one flight…”

    5)It depends on the Fuel. Cheap fuel, makes for an even path to ROI- especially if the fuel is cleaner and easier to handle- (cheaper ground costs)

    6)Fuel tanks and engines can only get lighter.

    7) Every additional argument that was used to sell Congress and President(s) on Shuttle and X-33 can be used /applied here- only this time, the case not only can be made again, but this time proven.

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