Ariane Next—also known as SALTO (reuSable strAtegic space Launcher Technologies & Operations—is the code name for a future

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

rocket being developed in the 2020s by

ArianeGroup ArianeGroup (formerly Airbus Safran Launchers) is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It consists of three core arms: aeros ...

. This partially reusable launcher is planned to succeed

Ariane 6 Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system currently under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is intended to replace the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. ...

, with an entry into service in the 2030s. The objective of the new launcher is to halve the launch costs compared with Ariane 6. The preferred architecture is that of the

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payl ...

rocket (a reusable first stage landing vertically with a common engine model for the two stages) while using an engine burning a mixture of

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

and

liquid oxygen Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an applica ...

. The first technological demonstrators are under development.

History

The European Space Agency's

launcher is to gradually succeed the

Ariane 5 Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads int ...

rocket after 2023. Studies on the next generation of European government-funded launcher to follow Ariane 6 started before 2019. The stated priority objective for the new rocket is to halve the cost of launching compared to Ariane 6 with simplified and more flexible launch methods.

was selected by the ESA in 2021 to head two projects: one to develop a new

reusable launch vehicle A reusable launch vehicle have parts that can be recovered and reflown, while carrying payloads from the surface to outer space. Rocket stages are the most common launch vehicle parts aimed for reuse. Smaller parts such as rocket engines and boost ...

and the other to develop a new

liquid propellant A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...

rocket engine A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordanc ...

for the vehicle. More specifically, the two programmes were named "SALTO (reuSable strAtegic space Launcher Technologies & Operations) and ENLIGHTEN (European iNitiative for Low cost, Innovative & Green High Thrust Engine) projects," respectively. ArianeGroup secured funding to begin

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

of the new reusable launch vehicle in May 2022. Funding for the project will be provided "by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

as a part of the

Horizon Europe Horizon Europe is a 7-year European Union scientific research initiative, successor of the Horizon 2020 programme and the earlier Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development. The European Commission drafted and approved a plan ...

programme designed to encourage and accelerate innovation" in Europe. In May 2022, the "French Economy Minister

Bruno Le Maire Bruno Le Maire (; born 15 April 1969) is a French politician and former diplomat who has served as Minister of the Economy and Finance since 2017 under President Emmanuel Macron. A former member of The Republicans (LR), which he left in 2017 to ...

said SALTO and ENLIGHTEN would be operational by 2026", and ArianeGroup stated that the target date was achievable. As of May 2022, the SALTO project intended to carry out an initial flight test of a single rocket stage by mid-2024, using a

Themis In Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titans, Titan children of Gaia and Uranus (mythology), Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the godde ...

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

first stage to validate the landing phase of the design.

Description

The architecture proposed for Ariane Next uses the formula developed by

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

with its

launcher: a reusable first stage which, after having separated from the second stage, returns to land vertically on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. The first stage will use several

liquid-propellant rocket A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket utilizes a rocket engine that uses liquid rocket propellant, liquid propellants. Liquids are desirable because they have a reasonably high density and high Specific impulse, specific impulse (''I''sp). T ...

engines: the predecessor for these is the Prometheus rocket engine under development by the EU, which burns a mixture of

and

. Methane is somewhat less efficient than the hydrogen used by the Vulcain engine of

but it can be stored at higher temperatures, compared to for

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

, which makes it possible to lighten and simplify the tanks and the supply circuits. The density of liquid methane is higher than hydrogen, which allows a mass reduction in the tank structure. The launcher is planned to use seven or nine of such engines for the first stage and a single engine for the second stage. The goal is to halve the launch costs compared to Ariane 6.

Preliminary steps

To be able to produce the new launcher, various technology demonstrators are being developed, each also funded by European Union technology development funds: * FROG is a small demonstrator for testing the vertical landing of a rocket stage. It made several flights in 2019. *

Callisto Callisto most commonly refers to: *Callisto (mythology), a nymph *Callisto (moon), a moon of Jupiter Callisto may also refer to: Art and entertainment *''Callisto series'', a sequence of novels by Lin Carter *''Callisto'', a novel by Torsten Kro ...

, under development, aims to improve the techniques required to produce a reusable launcher (return to Earth and reconditioning) and to estimate the operational cost of such a launcher. A first flight is scheduled for 2022. *

will then be developed. It will have a reusable first stage with one to three

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...

rocket motors and is expected to fly around 2022–2025.

Configurations

Different configurations of the launcher are being evaluated. Three versions are under consideration for different missions: * A two-stage version * A version with two small liquid propellant boosters * A version with three first stages linked together, similar to

Falcon Heavy Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle that is produced by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. The rocket consists of two strap-on boosters made from Falcon 9 first stages, a center core also made from a Falc ...

Return to Earth

Different systems are being studied for controlling the first stage's

atmospheric re-entry Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...

: *

Grid fin Grid fins (or lattice fins) are a type of flight control surface used on rockets and bombs, sometimes in place of more conventional control surfaces, such as planar fins. They were developed in the 1950s by a team led by and used since the 197 ...

s, as on the first stage of Falcon 9 * Stabilization fins * Air braking

Landing system

Different systems are being considered, ranging from everything on ground (''all ground systems'') to everything on the launcher (''all on-board systems''). Currently, development is focused on an on-board legs system similar to that of

References

External links

Ariane Next on CNES website
{{Portal bar, Spaceflight Reusable launch systems Partially reusable space launch vehicles Proposed space launch vehicles Space launch vehicles of Europe Ariane (rocket family) Space programs European space programmes Spaceflight technology