Airbus and Safran are teaming to propose a new family of space launch vehicles to serve both commercial and institutional needs, according to a joint company statement.
The companies will create a 50-50 joint venture with Airbus supplying its expertise in launch vehicles and Safran supplying propulsion systems. The goal is to accelerate the Ariane 5 Midlife Evolution (ME) launcher as a logical evolution of Ariane 5, including an improved upper stage based on the Vinci engine and further develop the Ariane 6 launcher in a jointly agreed configuration, according to Airbus spokeswoman Astrid Emerit. The announcement of the joint venture is a culmination of a two-year effort under the leadership of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES.
An official memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed, the companies said. Emerit said June 17 neither a name for the joint venture nor the determining definitive structure have been determined as a feasibility study is ongoing. France, Germany and Spain have government ownership stakes in Airbus. A Safran USA spokeswoman said the French government has a stake of around 22 percent in Safran.
Ariane 5 ME is designed both to respond to the market-driven need to launch larger, heavier satellites and to offer a greater variety of missions to different orbits, with a goal of maiden flight in 2017-2018, according to Airbus. It features a completely new upper stage, equipped with a reignitable cryogenic engine, with a nose fairing extended by three meters to accommodate larger payloads.
Ariane 5 ME will be able to carry two satellites of more than five tons each, calling for a payload capacity of 12 tons to get to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The lower composite will remain identical to that used on the Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle, using two solid propellant boosters and the cryogenic mainstage with the Vulcain 2 engine, but the new-generation cryogenic upper stage will be more powerful and capable of multiple burns.