BREMEN, Germany — ArianeGroup has began testing what it considers to be a flexible answer to quite a few challenges facing European spaceflight.
ArianeGroup quietly began testing a small demonstrator for its Smart Upper Stage for Revolutionary Exploration (SUSIE) in recent weeks. The vehicle was announced on the International Astronautical Congress in September 2022, but little more had been heard of the internally-funded project.
Testing of a two-meter-tall, 100-kilogram jet engine-powered demonstrator began in October with its first ignition at ArianeGroup’s site at Les Mureaux, in keeping with an initial French language media report.
The project intends to reinforce European independence in spaceflight by developing capabilities for each cargo and human transport. It also “goals to enable a competitive, modern and resilient space logistic for Europe, in a context of very diverse and growing space applications,” in keeping with a recent post on the corporate’s LinkedIn page.
ArianeGroup described the 1/sixth scale “test and learn” demonstrator because the “first concrete step in ArianeGroup’s roadmap to rapidly master and leverage the important thing technologies needed to validate the concept, notably during low speed flight, approach and landing phases.”
The complete sized Susie, measuring 12 meters tall, five meters wide and with a payload capability of seven tons, is designed to launch atop of an Ariane 64 rocket. It could as an alternative carry five astronauts, seated one behind one other facing forwards towards the tip of the spacecraft. Susie can also be intended to be fully reusable, potentially reducing long-term costs and increasing mission efficiency.
Parachute and abort tests are being scheduled, with hop testing with the demonstrator expected to proceed until Q2 2025, Marco Wolf, program manager for future projects and human spaceflight at ArianeGroup, told on the Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen, Germany, Nov. 16.
The early jet tests are testing guidance and navigation, while rocket powered descent and drop tests are planned for the long run. The spacecraft goals for precision landings using its engines or a parachute.
Wolf says that the event team is specializing in practical, hardware-based testing quite than solely theoretical or paper-based approaches. This includes constructing a mock-up demonstrator for landing approaches and conducting drop tests to judge the parachute system and water landing capabilities. A half-sized mock-up with two seats and a tentative control panel design were on display on the Expo.
Wolf says a team of around 20, based in each France and Germany, are currently working on the project. Consultations have also been held with European astronauts in Cologne and Airbus on the human-machine interface.
The team might be a spread of issues including sound pressure from rocket motors, the accommodation of astronauts, and the robustness of the thermal protection system. The crew version of Susie won’t feature an escape tower, but carry likely solid rocket motors on the skin of the craft for an emergency crew escape system.
ESA recently announced a business cargo competition at this month’s Space Summit in Seville, Spain, which intends to spur the event of cargo carrying capability with return capability inside Europe. A half-sized cargo Susie could be in step with the requirements of delivering a minimum of two tons of pressurized cargo to the ISS, and returning not less than one ton back to Earth.
Although specific dates and budget figures aren’t available, the timeline for a smaller business cargo version of Susie might be ready for 2028, meeting the deadline set by ESA for the European reusable cargo system contest. The system could be intended to serve the ISS and potentially Starlab and business space stations.
The spacecraft design intends to be scalable without significant changes to its aerodynamic values. Crewed missions could potentially occur within the early 2030s, says Wolf.
Wolf says that in addition to providing human spaceflight capabilities for Europe, it could bring greater independence and autonomy. It will also bring added value by keeping money spent inside Europe as an alternative of paying others for cargo and crew transportation, while also constructing capabilities, experience and expertise.
Europe is currently reassessing broader geopolitical and strategic objectives for the European space sector, as evidenced by a gap to business approaches to spaceflight. What role, if any, Susie plays will rely upon technical progress and the way Europe defines, selects and supports its strategic space ambitions.