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Reusable space transport systems to reduce cost

Berlin/Bremen, 01 May 2002

Utilisation of space by man will be characterised by considerable growth in the years and decades to come. Not only the use of communications satellites for various applications, but also the utilisation of the International Space Station that is currently being built, will considerably increase commercial interest in development and research in space: Once the necessary prerequisites are established (e.g. secured access and cost of laboratory utilisation, provision of feeder flights, research results covered by patents), industry will make extensive use of the opportunities provided for product development under microgravity conditions. This space commercialisation process is accompanied by the market's demand for a substantial reduction in the cost of transporting payloads into orbit.

Astrium has already a lead-management function in the Ariane 5 Plus programme which is intended to increase the payload capacity of the European launch vehicle from six to twelve tons without increasing launch costs. Modification of the Ariane 5 upper stage carried out by Astrium's Space Infrastructure division will also allow the transport of several payloads (satellites in particular) to different orbit locations on the one flight. Thus, launching costs per kilogram of payload will be reduced significantly. However, other space nations such as the United States, Russia and China are working on similar projects. To safeguard its competitive position in the medium and long term, Europe needs an additional, cost-effective means of transport that may be used independent of other nations.

HOPPER: Europe's autonomous transport vehicle

In its HOPPER concept, Astrium has gone for an autonomous transport system that is noted for its high degree of reusability and comparatively low mission costs. Although the unmanned HOPPER is very similar in appearance to the US Space Shuttle there are, however, some substantial differences: The system will be launched horizontally on a skid sled running on a four kilometre long track. The vehicle itself is more compact than the Space Shuttle. The re-entry angle will be optimised so as to keep the frictional heat at the outer skin substantially lower than that of the Space Shuttle. This will allow the sensitive and expensive thermal protection shield to be replaced by an affordable, low-maintenance heat protection system. Due to these features, Hopper is intended to transport payloads to orbit at 75% lower cost than conventional transport systems.

HOPPER can carry payloads of up to 7.5 tons and will deploy them - as a rule a satellite on an upper stage booster- from its tail at an altitude of 130 kilometres and then automatically return to Earth while the payload proceeds independently to its destination in geostationary or low-earth orbit (smaller satellites). HOPPER will be launched from the European Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. However, due to its trajectory, it can only land several thousand kilometres away from the launch site on European territory, on islands in the Atlantic. HOPPER can be transported back either by ship or by the Cargo-Lifter that is currently being developed. Should the European Space Agency ESA decide in favour of the HOPPER concept the space vehicle will be ready for use by the year 2015.

PHOENIX: Proof of technologies

Astrium is currently involved in the German development programme ASTRA (selected systems and technologies for future space transport system applications). This programme focuses on the construction and testing of a demonstrator, which will serve as predecessor to HOPPER. This technology demonstrator,

PHOENIX, requires a financial outlay of about 16 million euros. These costs are jointly covered by private enterprise (about EUR 7.5 million from own funds), the state of Bremen (about EUR 5 million), the German government and the German Aerospace Centre DLR. A flight demonstrator is required, as physical influences in the atmosphere do not allow all the design features to be demonstrated by computer simulation or wind tunnel testing.

PHOENIX, the testing of which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2003, is just under seven metres long, has a weight of 1,200 kilograms and a wingspan of 3.8 metres. The vehicle, being built at the Astrium site in Bremen, will not have a propulsion system of its own for the flight tests. A helicopter will drop it from an altitude of 3,500 metres. A GPS-based navigation system and onboard sensors - for example a radar altimeter - will control and monitor the flight path and measure all the relevant data. Touchdown will be automatic. For both, PHOENIX and HOPPER, tried and tested technologies will largely be used to keep development and future mission costs as low as possible and to minimise the development risk.

ASTRA: Development basis for future transport systems

ASTRA is the German contribution to the European development of reusable transport systems and goes thus beyond the PHOENIX project. Co-ordinated by DLR and funded to the tune of 40 million euros, the ASTRA programme is intended to gain the necessary system competence for autonomous access to space. Programme activities cover a wide spectrum, from ground facilities to payload delivery mechanisms and the creation of maintenance instructions for the transport system. In addition to Astrium and DLR, companies such as MAN-Technologie, OHB-System and Kayser-Threde, the Centre for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen as well as three special research departments of the German Society for the Advancement of Scientific Research (DFG) at the Technical Universities of Aachen, Munich and Stuttgart are involved in the programme.

Astrium, Europe's leading space company, is a joint company of EADS European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (75%) and BAE SYSTEMS (25%). The Space Infrastructure business division of Astrium develops and operates space laboratories and experiment facilities. The division also develops stages and propulsion systems for the Ariane family of launchers as well as propulsion systems for satellites. In 2001, Astrium Space Infrastructure achieved a turnover of about EUR 700 million with a labour force of 3,000.

Berlin/Bremen, May 2002

Your contact:
Kirsten Leung
Astrium Space Infrastructure
Phone: +49-421-539-5326 / Fax: +49-421-539-4534
e-mail: presse-si@astrium-space.com