The Vulcan 2.1 first stage rocket engine for the European next generation Ariane 6 heavy lift rocket has successfully undergone maiden t...
The Vulcan 2.1 first stage rocket engine for the European next generation Ariane 6 heavy lift rocket has successfully undergone maiden test firing.
The first hot firing was performed at the DLR German Aerospace Center test facility in Lampoldshausen, Germany.
The engine, developed by ArianeGroup, has a simplified and more robust nozzle, a gas generator made through additive manufacturing, and an oxygen heater for oxygen tank pressurisation. These features lower the cost of the engine and simplify manufacturing.
The cryogenic engine is 3.7 m high, 2.5 m in diameter and weighs about 2 tonnes, and can deliver 135 tonnes of thrust in vacuum.
Further tests will examine the ignition conditions, and the behaviour and performance of the engine and its different subsystems.
During this year, three Vulcain test campaigns in Germany and France will help engineers to decide whether adjustments are needed to optimise the functional, thermal and mechanical behaviour, before the start of combined tests.
The tests carried out at Lampoldshausen will allow the new engine to be tested throughout its flight envelope (thrust, mixing ratio, propellant supply conditions).
Vulcain 2.1 will play a key role in carrying Ariane 6 up to an altitude of 150 kilometres within the first 10 minutes of flight. The DLR test on the Vulcain 2.1 main stage engine lasted 11 minutes, roughly a third longer than the engine would need to carry the Ariane 6 launcher up into space, assisted by solid-propellant boosters.
Maiden flight of the Ariane 6 launcher is scheduled for 2020, which will replace the present work horse Ariane 5.
Ariane 6 features a modular configuration based on core stages powered by lower and upper liquid propellant modules, which that are supplemented by either two or four strap-on solid rocket motors.
The two strap on powered version A62 will have a geostationary orbit (GTO) payload of 5 tonnes while the four strap on motor version A64 will have 11 tonne GTO capacity.
In parallel, the Ariane 6 upper stage Vinci® engine qualification program is continuing on schedule, with more than 130 test firings performed on the two test beds in France and Germany, including several demonstrations of the multiple ignition capability required by Ariane customers for their missions on Ariane 6.
