The European Space Agency launches the very first Ariane 6 rocket on 9 July 2024. Two aerospace engineers based at SBIC Noordwijk (and currently working at ESA BIC alumnus HDES) will be eagerly watching the launch. They undertook research on the early ignition system of the second stage Vinci engine. Berry Sanders was the project manager and Armanda Hogedoorn was the test engineer at the time while working at TNO. The technology now features in the reignitable engine of Ariane 6.
The following is a re-post of a news item from the NSO website:
The Ariane 6 rocket is capable of putting the world’s heaviest satellites into orbit. It is considerably cheaper to launch than its predecessor Ariane 5. And thanks to innovative technology from the Netherlands, the rocket is also more versatile. So expectations are high: the Ariane 6 should become the new “workhorse” for European satellite launches. After more than a year without its own launch capacity, Europe is restoring its guaranteed access to space. Dutch companies developed various parts for the Ariane 6, which they supply for every model launched in the coming years.
The inaugural launch of Ariane 6 is an important milestone and a boost for Europe. The smaller Vega rocket is currently on the ground with technical problems and the Ariane 5 is also unavailable, because it retired in July last year. The Ariane 6 should have been ready by then, but the development of the rocket was delayed due to technical setbacks and the coronavirus pandemic.
Strategic importance
The fact that Europe can launch satellites autonomously again from tomorrow “is of great strategic importance for our society, security, prosperity and for our knowledge of the earth and the universe,” says NSO board member Joost Carpay. “Moreover, we are building this rocket in Europe, so the money we spend on launches benefits the European industry.”
The Netherlands also supplies parts for the new Ariane 6 rocket. Airbus Netherlands in Leiden is building the bottom of the rocket, the Vulcain Aft Bay. This component, which weighs almost 5000 kilos, must be able to withstand great forces and high temperatures. Airbus also supplies the engine frame for the second rocket stage, called Vinci Thrust Frame. This is a relatively small and light aluminium structure.
“We focus on complex structures,” says Frank Meiboom of Airbus Netherlands. “They should be as light as possible, but still rigid. They are heavily loaded, very hot and they have to deal with intense vibrations.” Airbus previously supplied similar parts for the Ariane 5 rocket, but was ordered to make them significantly cheaper for the Ariane 6. “We have spent years developing new production methods, simulation methods and even built a completely new factory in Oegstgeest with robotised production to achieve this,” says Meiboom.
Even before the Ariane 6 launch, Airbus Netherlands has already working on an improved version of the Vulcain Aft Bay, the bottom of the Ariane 6 rocket. From the sixteenth flight model onwards, the component becomes 800 kilos lighter. “Thanks to such a large mass reduction, you can launch more satellites with the same rocket,” says Meiboom. “In this way, we make the Ariane 6 increasingly efficient and better. This is necessary, because the market for launch rockets is very competitive.”
Innovative ignition
The other Dutch contribution to the Ariane 6 comes from the company Aerospace Propulsion Products (APP) from Klundert, supplier of the igniters that start the engines of the Ariane 6 rocket. The igniter of the first rocket stage works like a rocket and ignites once. That of the second rocket stage works with liquid fuel and can be restarted up to four times.
The innovative igniter provides two major advantages, explains APP director Edwin Vermeulen. Thanks to the restartable igniter, the Ariane 6 rocket can deliver multiple satellites to different orbits in one flight. In addition, the second rocket stage can slow down and return to Earth to burn up in the atmosphere. This method minimises the amount of space debris from the new European rocket.
This is an edited version of the news release that appears on the NSO website.
Successful launch: Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, made its inaugural flight from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 16:00 local time on 9 July (21:00 CEST). Ariane 6 is the latest in Europe’s Ariane rocket series, taking over from Ariane 5, and featuring a modular and versatile design that can launch missions from low-Earth orbit and farther out into deep space. View full ESA news release
NSO and Airbus Netherlands are technical partners of SBIC:
