Americanised Ariane 5: Game-changing Scenarios Rocket Execs

Commercial launch service providers on March 11 raised the possibility of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket becoming American, the international Sea Launch becoming Russian and the high-cost Japanese H-2A rocket becoming cost competitive.

All three scenarios would mean radical changes for the current systems and address problems that each of them has in maintaining or establishing a position in a market characterized by no more than 20-25 geostationary-orbiting commercial telecommunications satellites being competed for launch in a given year.

The most surprising of the declarations came from Arianespace Chief Executive Stephane Israel, whose Evry, France-based company sees an opening to the now out-of-reach U.S. government market in the U.S. Air Force deliberation over whether U.S. government space system managers should seek a diversity of launch options.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket is bidding to launch military satellites and is on a path toward U.S. Air Force certification.

Israel, whose high-cost Ariane 5 industrial supply chain is already preparing for a Big Bang-type reorganization as it prepares for the next-generation Ariane 6 vehicle, would be obliged to share its work with U.S. contractors if Ariane 5 were to be eligible to launch U.S. government payloads.

“As far as the employment aspect, we are ready to see how we could Americanize our rocket in return for U.S. government business,” Israel said, adding that U.S. rockets occasionally launch European government satellites.

Members of the 20-nation European Space Agency (ESA) are encouraged to use the heavy-lift EADS Astrium Ariane 5, the medium-lift Europeanized Russian Soyuz and the light Ariane Vega rockets for all their government missions. With few exceptions, most do this.

The most recent example of an exception is the German government’s second-generation radar reconnaissance satellite system, SARah-2.

The two SARah-2 and -3, satellites are scheduled for launch on two SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.

But the launch contract is not with the German government, but with OHB AG of Bremen, Germany, which is the SARah prime contractor and was given leeway in determining who would conduct the launches.

The first-generation constellation, the five-satellite SAR-Lupe system, was launched aboard Cosmos-3M Russian vehicles.

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SNC Dream Chaser: European Space Agency contributes Hardware

Dream Chaser, a commercial space plane built by Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Space Systems, is seen at NASA's Dryden Flight research Center located inside Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Credit: NASA

The European Space Agency (ESA), following in the footsteps of the German space agency (DLR), on Jan. 8 said it had signed an agreement with Sierra Nevada Corp. to investigate a European collaboration on SNC’s Dream Chaser crew-transport vehicle.

The 20-nation ESA said the one-year study with Sparks, Nev.-based SNC will focus on ESA-developed hardware that could be integrated into the Dream Chaser, reducing SNC’s development costs.

One specific focus, the agency said, will be ESA’s International Berthing Docking Mechanism, being developed in Belgium, Italy and Switzerland for use at the International Space Station and in future international space exploration missions.

The German Aerospace Center (DLR), in November concluded an agreement with OHB AG’s Kayser-Threde division in Munich to use German national funding for a similar study, this one focusing on Dream Chaser’s adaptability as a satellite-launch and satellite-recovery platform in orbits higher than the international space station.

Bremen, Germany-based OHB, a major space hardware contractor, said a Europeanised Dream Chaser, called DC4EU — Dream Chaser for European Utilization — could be used to ferry astronauts and gear to the space station.

ESA, Germany and the other partners in the international space station — the United States, Russia, Japan and Canada — have agreed to continue operating the orbital complex until 2020 and are discussing whether to extend the station’s life to 2028.

OHB said the Dream Chaser vehicle, being developed by SNC as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, could assure Europe a role in manned space activities after the station is decommissioned.

ESA EDRS Satellite System makes room for Hylas-3

When the European Data Relay System launches its second satellite in 2015, it will be taking the Hylas-3 communications package along for the ride thanks to ESA’s ‘hosted payload’ approach.

EDRS is being built through a public–private partnership between ESA and Astrium Services, using payloads carried by two satellites in geostationary orbit, 36 000 km above the Equator.

Data transmitted from satellites in lower orbits to either of these EDRS nodes can then be relayed to the ground.

The first of the two EDRS nodes will be carried on the Eutelsat-9B satellite in late 2014, built by Astrium and positioned at 9°E over the Equator.

The second satellite carrying EDRS had room for another payload, so ESA offered it to industry in August last year.

Avanti Communications of the UK was selected, with the final agreement being signed on 10 July at the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow.

Through this arrangement, the cost of satellite resources and the launch are now shared. This contributes to the funding of the EDRS programme while providing access to space at a lower cost for the hosted payload.

Avanti and ESA previously worked together to launch the Hylas-1 satellite in 2010.

Providing European broadband coverage and TV distribution, Hylas-1 is the first European satellite specifically designed to provide interactive broadband services, as ESA’s first public–private partnership in a full satellite system.

Hylas-3 includes a steerable multibeam antenna to provide communications for institutional and international customers, and is completely independent of EDRS.

The EDRS payload includes a laser terminal developed by TESAT of Germany to transmit up to 1.8 gigabits per second over distances in excess of 40 000 km, between the lower satellites and EDRS in geostationary orbit.

Both EDRS and Hylas-3 will be flown on a satellite built by OHB of Germany using the Small GEO platform.

Through its ARTES telecommunications programme, ESA has supported a number of hosted payloads over the years.