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ESA entrusts a consortium led by Sener to define the architecture of future European space launchers

  • The European Space Agency has entrusted the consortium formed by Sener, Beyond Gravity, Italian Aerospace Research Center (CIRA), Dassault Aviation, Elecnor Deimos, Pangea Aerospace, Thales Alenia Space Italia and von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics to study the feasibility of the future European family of reusable launchers that can carry both payloads and astronauts to different destinations, based on modular blocks that do not leave space debris behind them.
  • The consortium, gathering leading companies and research centers, will provide a specialized and agnostic analysis to help the agency develop independent, advanced, and sustainable access to space technologies able to compete in the global market. The objective is to develop sovereign and reusable access to space and regain Europe’s historical position in this market.

  • The key responsibility of VKI within this consortium is to perform state-of-the-art Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. VKi's expertise in this field will play a crucial role in estimating the flight trajectory of the re-entry systems. With this data, we will contribute to designing safer and more efficient launch systems, ensuring the success of future space missions.

 

Press release

Madrid, 21 June 2023. The European Space Agency (ESA) has tasked a consortium led by Sener with helping to define the architecture of future European space launch systems. In addition to Sener (through its subsidiary Sener Aerospace and Defence), the consortium is formed by other leading companies in the European space sector and research institutes, such as Beyond Gravity, CIRA, Dassault Aviation, Elecnor Deimos, Pangea Aerospace, Thales Alenia Space Italia and the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics.

Specifically, the consortium will conduct the feasibility study and the proofs of concept for the development of a future European family of reusable launchers that are capable of carrying both payloads and astronauts, based on an innovative modular concept that encourages reuse while reducing the environmental impact in the form of space debris and emissions. These launch systems will rely on liquid fuel engines to propel the two stages that will make up these launchers, a concept called R-TSTO, meaning the launchers will consist of two stages, both reusable. Pangea Aerospace, experienced in advanced and reusable rocket engines, is responsible for the analysis and proposal of future propulsion systems for the reusable launcher family.

In addition to the architecture of these systems, the consortium will help define operational procedures and the associated enabling technologies, together with new program management structures. It will thus help provide a consolidated vision for the long-term offer of launch services, maximizing the coverage of mission scenarios and use cases.

The consortium will follow ESA's roadmap for space transport for the coming decades (Vision 2030+) and provide a specialized, agnostic, and complementary perspective with respect to the technology available on the market, offering an independent approach with respect to other pre-existing European solutions. It will therefore help move further one of the strategic pillars of ESA: strengthen Europe's technological independence and sovereignty in accessing space, and its global competitiveness in the space industry.

José Julián Echevarría, Managing Director of Aerospace and Defence at Sener, stresses that "historically, Europe has played an important role in launch systems, with iconic launchers like the Ariane and Vega families. Today, the sector requires these systems to evolve, and with it, Europe has an opportunity to continue contributing significantly to the advancement of the space industry, while also gaining capabilities that guarantee its technological sovereignty and independence in access to space and its global competitiveness. We are proud to provide our technical capabilities and that of our partners to achieve it."

About Sener: The Sener engineering and technology group, founded in 1956, employs nearly 3,000 professionals on five continents. Sener Aerospace and Defence is a leading supplier of high-performance systems for the space, science and defence sectors, with over 50 years of experience developing its own high value-added technology products. In Space, it supplies electromechanical, navigation (CNG/AOCS), communications and optical systems, and it is involved in the main programs of the ESA and NASA space agencies (including Euclid, Meteosat Third Generation, Solar Orbiter, JUICE, Proba-3, Hubble, Galileo, Rosetta, Gaia, Herschel and Planck, IXV, BepiColombo and Mars 2020) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). In the commercial space market, it is a world leader in supplying telemetry, tracking and command (TTC) antennas, and it regularly supplies all types of antennas and passive and active RF devices to leading international communications satellite manufacturers, as well as to the so-called New Space programs.