Summary
The rise of small satellites and large constellations is changing the satellite industry. Due to the growth of the small satellite market, launch has become the bottleneck of the industry. According to MT Aerospace the micro-launcher market will grow as much as four to seven times in the next decade, with a full market potential of up to €7B.
The RRTB consortium believes that a tailored service for access to space for small satellites is required. However, micro-launchers regularly have higher launch costs per kilogram than bigger launchers. Today, the cornerstone of this emerging market is the economic viability of launching small payloads at high frequencies to dedicated orbits. According to the RRTB consortium, technological development and vehicle reuse are fundamental steps to bring down the cost of launch and access-to-space.
This project investigates the recovery and return to base system (RRTB) for the first stage of the MESO launch vehicle. The recovery and return to base system is divided into two parts:
1. Passive atmospheric reentry: The atmospheric reentry of the first stage of the vehicle will be a passive reentry. During the project this phase, together with its required hardware, will be investigated and defined during the project by Pangea Aerospace together with Deimos Space and VKI.
2. Horizontal landing: Landing of the first stage of the vehicle is intended to be performed using a novel patent pending horizontal landing technology that uses electric ducted fans situated in both sides of the first stage of the launch vehicle to brake the fall of first stage, control it and perform a safe landing. This phase will be studied by TUM and Pangea Aerospace.
Furthermore during the project the structural design and analysis of the MESO launch vehicle, as well as an investigation of the launch vehicle's propellant tanks (a critical component for cost-efficient reuse), will be performed. This work will involve RWTH, Heron, TAS, Toseda and Pangea.
The RRTB consortium believes that a tailored service for access to space for small satellites is required. However, micro-launchers regularly have higher launch costs per kilogram than bigger launchers. Today, the cornerstone of this emerging market is the economic viability of launching small payloads at high frequencies to dedicated orbits. According to the RRTB consortium, technological development and vehicle reuse are fundamental steps to bring down the cost of launch and access-to-space.
This project investigates the recovery and return to base system (RRTB) for the first stage of the MESO launch vehicle. The recovery and return to base system is divided into two parts:
1. Passive atmospheric reentry: The atmospheric reentry of the first stage of the vehicle will be a passive reentry. During the project this phase, together with its required hardware, will be investigated and defined during the project by Pangea Aerospace together with Deimos Space and VKI.
2. Horizontal landing: Landing of the first stage of the vehicle is intended to be performed using a novel patent pending horizontal landing technology that uses electric ducted fans situated in both sides of the first stage of the launch vehicle to brake the fall of first stage, control it and perform a safe landing. This phase will be studied by TUM and Pangea Aerospace.
Furthermore during the project the structural design and analysis of the MESO launch vehicle, as well as an investigation of the launch vehicle's propellant tanks (a critical component for cost-efficient reuse), will be performed. This work will involve RWTH, Heron, TAS, Toseda and Pangea.
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More information & hyperlinks
| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/870340 |
| Start date: | 01-02-2020 |
| End date: | 30-04-2023 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 3 082 740,00 Euro - 3 082 740,00 Euro |
Cordis data
Original description
The rise of small satellites and large constellations is changing the satellite industry. Due to the growth of the small satellite market, launch has become the bottleneck of the industry. According to MT Aerospace the micro-launcher market will grow as much as four to seven times in the next decade, with a full market potential of up to €7B.The RRTB consortium believes that a tailored service for access to space for small satellites is required. However, micro-launchers regularly have higher launch costs per kilogram than bigger launchers. Today, the cornerstone of this emerging market is the economic viability of launching small payloads at high frequencies to dedicated orbits. According to the RRTB consortium, technological development and vehicle reuse are fundamental steps to bring down the cost of launch and access-to-space.
This project investigates the recovery and return to base system (RRTB) for the first stage of the MESO launch vehicle. The recovery and return to base system is divided into two parts:
1. Passive atmospheric reentry: The atmospheric reentry of the first stage of the vehicle will be a passive reentry. During the project this phase, together with its required hardware, will be investigated and defined during the project by Pangea Aerospace together with Deimos Space and VKI.
2. Horizontal landing: Landing of the first stage of the vehicle is intended to be performed using a novel patent pending horizontal landing technology that uses electric ducted fans situated in both sides of the first stage of the launch vehicle to brake the fall of first stage, control it and perform a safe landing. This phase will be studied by TUM and Pangea Aerospace.
Furthermore during the project the structural design and analysis of the MESO launch vehicle, as well as an investigation of the launch vehicle's propellant tanks (a critical component for cost-efficient reuse), will be performed. This work will involve RWTH, Heron, TAS, Toseda and Pangea.
Status
SIGNEDCall topic
SPACE-17-TEC-2019Update Date
27-10-2022
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Organisations
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| PANGEA AEROSPACE SL (Coördinator)
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| DEIMOS SPACE SOCIEDAD LIMITADA UNIPERSONAL
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| HERON ENGINEERING MECHANICAL STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS EPE
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| INSTITUT VON KARMAN DE DYNAMIQUE DES FLUIDES
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| RHEINISCH-WESTFAELISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHEN - WZL
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| TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
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| THALES ALENIA SPACE ITALIA SPA
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| TOSEDA SRO