Speaker
Description
ESA’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is dedicated to advancing Europe's space transportation capabilities: to, from and in space. It supports the development and testing of new technologies and system concepts that will shape the next generations of European space transportation systems. From reusable launchers and in-space transportation to advanced propulsion, the future launchers preparatory programme prepares the future of space transportation. This talk will introduce FLPP, highlight some of our activities related to Aerothermodynamics and Demisability, and explain the opportunities to work with FLPP in the future.
Some examples of FLPP’s projects on demisable materials for use in space transportation vehicles include:
- Developing a thermoplastic composite material which will ablate during re-entry. The project consortium includes a launch vehicle component manufacturer to provide the use case to be considered in the project, materials characterisation experts who will test the material in an ablation chamber which simulates re-entry conditions, and a startup specialising in Life Cycle Assessment to quantify the environmental performance.
- Developing a novel composite made from enhanced wood, with similar mechanical properties to aluminium, which will reduce the metallic particles being ejected in the upper atmosphere during re-entry.
FLPP also worked with DLR’s Supersonic and Hypersonic Technologies Department on a project to mature and validate Wind Tunnel Testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics for retro-propulsion, with the goal of preparing tools needed for the design of future European reusable launchers. It resulted in a number of new capabilities for aerodynamics and aerothermodynamics, for example being able to show the difference in heating of the base of the vehicle during a re-entry burn between firing a single engine and multiple engines, which is strongly affected by the plume-plume interaction. We are now running a follow-on project with the same team, which started by inviting the European Space Transportation primes to propose study cases which will directly address their current challenges and at the same time allow the consortium to mature and validate Wind Tunnel and CFD techniques. Although the cases proposed by industry mostly address aerodynamics topics, one of the selected cases will study aerodynamic heating of a multi-engine microlauncher during the ascent phase.
FLPP runs a number of different types of calls for proposals, including THRUST! for high thrust engines and BEST! for reusable boosters. Most relevantly to the current topic, the Future Innovation and Research in Space Transportation! (FIRST!) calls help technology providers to develop disruptive technologies which have commercial application in Space Transportation. Each FIRST! starts with a call for ideas through the OSIP platform, followed by a pitch day where the people who proposed the most interesting ideas can meet with Space Transportation primes and potential investors. An Invitation To Tender is then issued, resulting in between 6 and 10 contracts for one-year development activities targeting TRL 4 to 5.
With the support for Space Transportation shown at CMIN25, FLPP looks forward to continuing to prepare for the future of Space Transportation for the benefit of Europe.