It is a step towards the reusable rocket desired by Europe. An ignition campaign ended successfully with the test of a complete stage, with its engine. It is the Themis program, which should allow the Old Continent to do like SpaceX.
It is not yet the long-awaited test flight, which will allow us to see the first European demonstrator of a reusable rocket in action, but it is a step that counts. On Thursday June 22, ArianeGroup took a step forward in the design of this prototype, called Themis, by completing its ignition campaign. The aim here was to test a complete stage of a reusable space launcher.
This test, organized in France at the Vernon site, northwest of Paris, was an opportunity to combine the Themis reusable stage demonstrator with Prometheus, a rocket engine which is also designed to be used again. Prometheus, currently under development, will notably be mobilized for Ariane Next, the rocket that will succeed Ariane 6 around 2030.
In this test, which lasted twelve seconds, it was not the future “fuel” of the launcher that was used, namely a mixture of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane (LCH4), but a biofuel. Eventually, Themis should be 30 meters high and 3.5 wide. The rocket will also carry three Prometheus engines.
The future of European rockets
According to the schedule that was mentioned in 2020, engine tests and static firing tests were planned for 2021, with low-altitude flights, in the form of “hops” in Kiruna, Sweden. Suborbital flight tests were then to take place in 2023 and 2024, while full flights, particularly at sea, the following year.
” The complete test of the Prometheus engine, carried out directly on the Themis reusable stage demonstrator, was eagerly awaited, as it opens a promising way to prepare the future family of European launchers “, welcomed the executive chairman of ArianeGroup, Martin Sion. Other tests specific to the rocket engine are expected this year, in France and Germany.
Themis is a European response to SpaceX, the American company that shook up the aerospace sector with its low-cost Falcon 9 launcher. The particularity of this launcher is that it can be reused many times. Its first floor also has everything needed to return to Earth once its mission is accomplished, with a soft landing capability.
Themis is a program focusing on the reusability of a launcher, and inexpensive. However, this is not the only project being explored on the Old Continent. There is also the Callisto program which focuses on vertical landing — that is, the return from the mission of the first stage of a rocket. In fact, the Themis and Callisto projects are intended to converge.
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