Themis programme

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The Themis programme is a European Space Agency programme, that is taking the first steps towards a European government-funded in-flight demonstration of a prototype reusable rocket first stage. The prototype rocket will also be called Themis, with flights slated to begin as early as 2023.

Context[]

Themis is expected to provide valuable information on the economic value of reusability for the European government space program and develop technologies for potential use on future European launch vehicles.[1][non-primary source needed]

Themis will be powered by the ESA's Prometheus rocket engine.[1]

Two possible landing sites:[citation needed]

  • ‘Diamant zone’[clarification needed], used for experimental demonstrations
  • Ariane 5 launch complex, which will become available after the transition from the Ariane 5 to the next-generation Ariane 6

Estimated program timeline, as of December 2020:[2]

  • 2020 Basic stage test[clarification needed]
  • 2021 Engine test
  • 2022 Hop test[clarification needed]
  • 2023 Initial flight test
  • 2023-2024 Loop test
  • 2025 Full flight envelope test

Suborbital flight tests are slated to begin as early as 2023 at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.[citation needed]

Eventually, lessons learned with Themis development will pave the way to develop the European reusable launcher Ariane Next, which should flight from the 2030s.[3]

History[]

  • On 15 December 2020, ESA signed a contract worth €33 million with prime contractor ArianeGroup in France for the ‘Themis Initial Phase’. This first phase of the Themis involves development of the flight vehicle technologies, and test bench and static fire demonstrations at Vernon in France. It also includes the preparation of the ground segment[clarification needed] at the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden, for the first ‘hop’ tests[clarification needed] and any associated flight vehicle modifications.[4][non-primary source needed]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Prometheus to power future launchers". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  2. ^ Payer, Markus (2020-11-30). "ArianeWorks on European reusable rocket prototype Themis". SpaceWatch.Global. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  3. ^ Patureau de Mirand, Antoine (July 2019). Ariane Next, a vision for a reusable cost efficient European rocket (PDF). 8th European Conference for Aeronautics and Space Sciences. doi:10.13009/EUCASS2019-949. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  4. ^ "ESA plans demonstration of a reusable rocket stage". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2020-12-15.

External links[]

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