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EADS and the Russian aerospace company KBKhA sign contract for the development of technologies for reusable space propulsion systems.

Moscow, 19 August 2003

* Tehora 3 contract totally worth € 1.5 million
* Contract signature marks climax of ten-year cooperation with Russia
* First operational use planned for 2020

The successful European-Russian cooperation in space technology is entering a new phase. With the signing of the development contract for the Tehora 3 technology programme, the aerospace company EADS and the Russian KBKhA (Chemical Automatics Design Bureau) are continuing their successful alliance in the sphere of reusable space propulsion systems. As the two companies announced at the MAKS aviation and space exhibition in Moscow on Tuesday, the contract is for a period of three years and is totally worth € 1.5 million. The objective is to develop key technologies for a reusable launcher engine.

The first step in the Tehora programme was to develop fuel injection systems, as well as combustion chamber and nozzle concepts for reusable propulsion units. The main purpose of Tehora 3 is to develop and test an European technology for a non-bypass engine. In addition, the investigations are concentrating on the possibilities of using the combined propellant liquid oxygen plus hydrocarbon or, for example, kerosene. What distinguishes these fuels is their high energy density. EADS and KBKHA have been cooperating on Tehora since the early nineties.

EADS and KBKhA set big hopes in the continuation of the Tehora programme. As both enterprises explained, the achieved results would have shown that they are capable of developing propulsion systems for reusable launchers. Declared aim is to offer a solution that will meet the market's needs. Then EADS and KBKhA would also play an important role when it comes to the choice of a propulsion system for a European space transportation system. "Aerospace companies all over the world are working on reusable transport systems. With reusable systems the payload costs per kilogram could be reduced clearly.

“We have now been working with our Russian partners for ten years on propulsion technologies of the future,” said Dr Axel Deich, Director Propulsion and Equipment at EADS SPACE Transportation. “In particular reusable space transportation systems are a prerequisite for the long-term, cost-effective use of space. For this reason, aerospace companies all over the world are working on such concepts. If we succeed in merging German and Russian know-how, we will be able to play the leading role in this important market segment. This is especially considered with regard to the European FLPP programme.”

At the meeting of the ESA Council in May this year, the decision was taken to launch a preparatory programme for future space transportation systems, called Next Generation Launcher (NGL). Within the scope of this Future Launcher Preparatory Programme (FLPP), concepts and technologies are to be developed for the NGL. The potential ESA participating nations have set aside € 24 million for the first phase. The technology developed by EADS in collaboration with its Russian partners could be employed for the first time in a transport system in 2020.

EADS is the second largest aerospace and defence company in the world with revenues of € 29.9 billion in the year 2002 and a workforce of more than 100,000. It is a systems integrator and as such is one of the few companies worldwide capable of combining various products and technologies to form complete systems and offering the associated services. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the second largest missile producer in the global market. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo. EADS has over 70 sites in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain and is active in many regions worldwide, amongst them America, Russia and Asia.

Contact:

Gregor von Kursell
Tel.: +49 177 / 725 30 27