Tim Furniss/LONDON
A restructured Future Launcher Technology Programme (FLTP) will be proposed at the next meeting of the European Space Agency's (ESA) council in November, with a budget of $620 million for the next six years.
The agency and three of its members - France, Germany and Italy - are proposing the restructuring, which would integrate a series of national projects and budgets into one programme. A number of pathfinder programmes is expected to lead to the development of technologies required for a future European reusable launch vehicle (RLV).
Since its $48 million inception in 1999, ESA's original 18-month FLTP has been criticised following delays due to contractual procedures and a lack of co-ordination. The bulk of the FLTP work had been delegated to French space agency CNES, which also contributed a large part of the programme budget. At the same time, ESA, Germany and Italy went ahead with other concept studies, while CNES was also working with Japan on that country's transonic demonstrator.
As a result, progress on the FLTP has been slow and it is hoped that a positive decision in November will speed up the process.
The new budget will also include funding for system studies, propulsion, guidance, navigation, structures, thermal protection and other technologies. "The objective will be to bring together several disparate national technology programmes under one co-ordinated umbrella," says Marco Caporicci, ESA's FLTP manager.
The programme will be divided into two FLTP phases, says Caporicci: "Phase 1 in 2002-04 with $270 million funding; and phase 2 in 2005-07 with $350 million, synergising everything into one programme which may one day lead to a reusable commercial launcher and human launch transportation system." A decision on development of the new launcher could be made by 2007, he adds.
The FLTP will have to unite existing national projects. These include ESA's proposed two experimental technology demonstration vehicles - the $220 million Socrates and the $180 million Hercules.
In addition, the first phase of FLTP could exploit the Angel project, which involves CNES, Germany's DLR and industrial partners EADS, Astrium and Dassault. A $600 million second phase of the Angel project could involve test flights up to 2009 of two experimental vehicles.
Also, as part of Germany's ASTRA programme, Astrium is planning the 1.2t Phoenix automatic landing demonstrator as a first step toward the development of the partly reusable winged "Suborbital Hopper".
Meanwhile, Italy's PRORA programme, run by the Italian Aerospace Research Centre, is focusing on various technologies and flying test beds for sustained hypersonic flight, atmospheric re-entry and reusability. The Italian Space Agency is also funding technology developments.
Source: Flight International
