Prometheus program

Автор Salo, 01.06.2016 21:14:57

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silentpom

не понимаю - зачем нужен реюзабл и дешевый одновременно? не вижу смысла :(

vlad7308

Цитироватьsilentpom пишет:
не понимаю - зачем нужен реюзабл и дешевый одновременно? не вижу смысла  :(
нуууу...
тут наверняка несколько факторов :)
1. дешево - это лучше чем дорого
2. будет или не будет реюзабл РН - неизвестно
3. Маск :)
это оценочное суждение

Salo

Цитировать Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  2 ч.2 часа назад  
CNES's Le Gall today on French priorities for Dec Euro ministerial conf, inc $ for CSG spaceport. Notable: Zero mention of ISS ops funding.
 
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

Цитировать Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes 3 мин.3 минуты назад
ESA launcher director Neuenschwander: We wanted EUR 100M for reusable LOX/methane engine, we got EUR 83. So program can start.#ESACM16
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

pkl

Ну вот, а я было подумал, что JIMO возобновили. :(
Вообще, исследовать солнечную систему автоматами - это примерно то же самое, что посылать робота вместо себя в фитнес, качаться.Зомби. Просто Зомби (с)
Многоразовость - это бяка (с) Дмитрий Инфан

Salo

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
https://ariane.cnes.fr/fr/moteur-promethee-une-evolution-vers-des-systemes-de-lancements-europeens-tres-bas-cout
ЦитироватьPROMETHEE (Precursor Reusable Oxygen METHane cost Effective Engine),
Статья на сайте пропала, поэтому делаю гугль перевод из кэша:
http://web.archive.org/web/20160827123254/https://ariane.cnes.fr/fr/moteur-promethee-une-evolution-vers-des-systemes-de-lancements-europeens-tres-bas-cout
Цитировать20 апреля 2016
Двигатель ПРОМЕТЕЙ, эволюция в сторону европейских систем запуска по очень низкой цене
С двигателем ПРОМЕТЕЙ, CNES и Airbus Safran Пусковые подготовки европейских систем запуска при очень низких затратах.

С момента своего создания, Ariane 5 пусковая замечательный успех. На сегодняшний день в европейской ракеты-носителя завершила серию последовательных 71 успешных запусков.

К 2020 году Ariane 6 продолжит этот успех, особенно на фоне значительного появления новых игроков в области космических транспортных систем и по более низкой цене в два раза Ariane 5.

В самом деле, питание от новых инвесторов и распространение инновационных приложений, среда космический сектор меняется, обе стороны спутника или ракеты предложением услуг, предлагаемых новых игроков. Все указывает на то, что эти новые операторы будут продолжать свои усилия по снижению стоимости доступа к пространству для 2025/2035 горизонта.
Для конкурентной пусковой установки за Ariane 6

Так что Европа может продолжать иметь, в долгосрочной перспективе, конкурентоспособного пусковая за Ariane 6, CNES в партнерстве с Airbus Safran Launchers, готовит разработку новых двигателей, которые снижают снова издержки производства и увеличить скорость запуска. "Мы считаем, что мы должны работать на новом движке, который может повторно использоваться, но, помимо этого, нам нужно гораздо дешевле, чем те, двигатель в настоящее время используется, стоимость будет снижена в 10 раз, что это ли не многоразовый двигатель, "объяснил Жан-Марк Astorg, КНЕС директор пусковые в феврале-марте 2016 года выпуске Aviation Week и космической техники.

ПРОМЕТЕЙ (Предшественник многоразовый стоимость кислорода метана Эффективная двигателя), тяги цикла генератор газовый двигатель 100 T LOX / Метан является шагом в направлении европейских систем запуска при очень низких затратах. Цель состоит в том, чтобы иметь кувшин, который будет стоить в два раза меньше Ariane 6 вперед с двадцать первого века технологии. Первые огневые испытания на скамейке двигателя PROMETHEE планируется в 2018 году.

Проводимые исследования, проведенные совместно с ASL и Пусковые дирекции CNES, помогли определить технологические решения, которые отвечают очень низкой стоимости целей этого двигателя. Параллельно с этим, прототипирования деталей уже начато.

Через ПРОМЕТЕЙ, цель состоит в том, чтобы также сократить время разработки двигателя за счет использования в том числе и новейшие технологии в области 3D-печати.
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

#26
http://spacenews.com/frances-prometheus-reusable-engine-becomes-esa-project-gets-funding-boost/
ЦитироватьFrance's Prometheus reusable engine becomes ESA project, gets funding boost
by Caleb Henry — February 1, 2017
 
ESA is upping investment in reusable launcher tech so that European industry can one day build reusable rockets if it wants to. Credit: CNES
 
WASHINGTON — A French reusable rocket engine program is getting a boost from the European Space Agency, which is ready to sign a contract with Airbus Safran Launchers that would lead to an engine test three years from now.
A small team of engineers from Airbus Safran Launchers and the French space agency CNES have poured a few million euros since 2015 into a liquid oxygen and-methane-fueled reusable engine dubbed Prometheus. ESA leaders agreed during December's ministerial conference in Lucerne, Switzerland, to make Prometheus part of the agency's Future Launchers Preparatory Program, or FLPP.
In an interview with SpaceNews, Airbus Safran Launchers CEO Alain Charmeau said FLPP is allocating 85 million euros ($91 million) to Prometheus to fund research and development leading to a 2020 test firing. Now that Prometheus is an ESA program, Charmeau expects more countries will get involved.
"ESA will pay the contract to Airbus Safran Launchers and then Airbus Safran Launchers will cooperate with European industry, of course France and Germany, but we will have also contributions from Italy, Belgium, Sweden and probably a couple of others to a smaller extent," Charmeau said.
Europe has been reticent to jump into reusability. Both of its next-generation launchers — Ariane 6 and Vega C  — will be expendable. Airbus Safran Launchers, ESA's prime contractor for the Ariane 6, has said the European market does not ensure enough launches to make reusability a profitable pursuit. Charmeau said the Prometheus work ESA has agreed to fund will evaluate the feasibility of developing a reusable engine with drastically lower cost.
 
Digital rendering of Europe's proposed reusable rocket engine, Prometheus. Credit: Airbus Safran Launchers

Спойлер
"If we have this answer by 2020, then we can work on the evolution of launchers either for reusability or not depending on the size of the market," he said.
The target price for a Prometheus engine is 1 million euros, one-tenth the cost of the Ariane 6's liquid-oxygen and liquid-hydrogen Vulcain 2.1 engine. The Prometheus program is making extensive use of new technologies and production methods, including 3-D printing, and a large amount of technical design work already completed in France and Germany, according to an Airbus Safran Launchers presentation.
Charmeau said the market dynamics that have dissuaded the company from reusability in the past are still the same, but the company wants to lay the foundation for long-term launcher development.
"We are preparing the market for 2030. Today we do not have in Europe an engine which has the capability to be reused for the main stage of the launcher. Until we have this engine, it is very difficult to design what could be a new launcher," he said.
During December's ministerial, ESA members committed 206.8 million euros to FLPP. Startup PLD Space of Spain, another member of the FLPP program, received 750,000 euros from ESA in November to study liquid-propulsion stage recovery for a small satellite launcher.
Airbus Defence and Space's reusable first-stage engine concept, the Advanced Expendable Launcher with Innovative engine Economy, or Adeline, is a separate project from Prometheus, Charmeau said, but could combined with the liquid-propulsion system. Adeline proposes returning an Ariane first-stage engine by flying it back with deployable wings and landing on a runway.
"Prometheus might fit very well with this kind of reusable launcher concept," Charmeau said.
[свернуть]
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Дем

Цитироватьsilentpom пишет:
не понимаю - зачем нужен реюзабл и дешевый одновременно? не вижу смысла  :(
Потому что дешёвый он только относительно других движков.
А так - десятки мегабаксов.
Летать в космос необходимо. Жить - не необходимо.

Salo

#28
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-22066/#/gallery/26832
5th DLR Industrial Days at the Lampoldshausen site
ЦитироватьThe future of space transport: Will large satellite networks change our way into space?
12 April 2017

 
    [/li]
  • On 11 and 12 April 2017, within the framework of the 5th Industrial Days, leading space travel representatives met at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) site in Lampoldshausen.
  • Approximately 100 experts from space agencies, industry and science exchanged views on the future of European space transport.
  • This year's focus is on current and future developments in the field of LOX / methane technology.
The importance of global networks for the aerospace sector has grown enormously. Increasingly widespread digitalisation and the spiralling volume of data generated are redefining the requirements for the space sector. Plans for a long-term expansion of large satellite networks as the basis for a global communication system are becoming more and more apparent. In future, the operation and use of satellite networks in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) will enable a broad range of uses, such as Earth observation or disaster management. Are our launch vehicles ideally suited for building these new satellite infrastructures? And what are the requirements and technical consequences for European launcher systems? Senior representatives from space agencies, industry and science gathered at the Lampoldshausen site of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) from 11– 12 April 2017 for the 5th Industrial Days to discuss the future of European space transport.

Rethinking space
The European launchers, Ariane, Vega and Soyuz, are among the most reliable systems on the global market. But digitalisation and networking are increasingly changing the way in which space is used – and these changes are already noticeable in the area of space transport. "Now, more than ever before, it is essential to take a critical look at the underlying principle behind our proven launcher systems. The innovative, core principle is individual space transport that is designed to better preserve resources," said Pascale Ehrenfreund, Chair of the DLR Executive Board, summarising the transformation precipitated by a digital world, adding: "The launchers of the future require a greater focus on market-oriented objectives: they must include innovation from other industries, be application - and customer oriented, as well as rapidly available."

The road to Ariane 6 and beyond
Competitive and reliable, high-performance and flexible – these adjectives best describe the Ariane launcher family that will now be expanded accordingly with the addition of Ariane 6. Airbus Safran Launchers, prime industrial contractor for the Ariane 6 programme, has now reached the key milestones: firstly, technical maturity of the launcher system has been confirmed, and secondly, the European Space Agency (ESA) has now signed an addendum to the original Ariane 6 contract, releasing the necessary funds to complete development and industrialisation. The reduction in actual costs for launching without restricting the launcher's reliability is of particular significance in this respect. Moreover, performance and cost-efficiency of Ariane 5 will be further improved as a means of prevailing in an increasingly competitive market. Starting in 2023, Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch up to 12 times per year and replace the current Ariane 5 system.
The main actors within the European aerospace sector have their eyes firmly fixed on the commissioning of Ariane 6. Moreover, Europe is already actively preparing a future launcher system: the French space agency (CNES), Airbus Safran Launchers and DLR are collaborating within the Prometheus Project to develop a cost-efficient, high-thrust and reusable rocket engine powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and methane. Numerous projects around the world have investigated the use of methane as a rocket fuel for decades. But so far the LOX/methane propulsion system has not been used in any real launcher. Since the 2016 ESA Council at Ministerial Level, the committee that oversees European space policies, however, the research and technology development of the Prometheus project have been included in the ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP).

Research for the adoption of new technologies
A fuel combination comprising methane and liquid oxygen has an auspicious role to play in the development of new liquid rocket fuels for space. The potential options of methane extend from adding it to the current liquid fuel engines used in the Ariane launchers, to a complete replacement of liquid hydrogen. DLR engineers in the Prometheus project are now working on developing the LOX/methane technology as quickly as possible for use within the European space programme. The targets are clearly defined: Airbus Safran Launchers and the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion entered into an alliance in 2016 to drive rapid progress in LOX/methane technology. While the engineers at Airbus Safran Launchers designed and built a promising technology demonstrator, the DLR engineers adapted the P3 test rig to suit these entirely new conditions, especially with regards to the fuel supply. The project partners then conducted a 12-month test campaign that yielded important findings for the continued development of necessary, critical technologies such as the combustion chamber. "Our test campaign has paved the way for the development of innovative LOX/methane technology," explained Gerald Hagemann, Head of Liquid Propulsion Engineering at Airbus Safran Launchers. Upon completion of a test campaign with Vulcain 2.1 – the main stage engine of the Ariane 6 rocket – the aim is to run tests on a LOX/methane technology demonstrator with 100 tons of thrust under representative conditions on the P5 test rig at the DLR Test Centre for Rocket Propulsion Systems in Lampoldshausen. This LOX/methane engine has the potential to reduce the costs of the Vulcain main stage propulsion system, developed by Europe in the 1980s, by a factor of 10.

DLR Lampoldshausen Test centre – Backbone of European space transport
"DLR Lampoldshausen contributes its unique expertise as a European test and development site for all liquid space propulsion systems to the research into LOX/methane technology," emphasised Stefan Schlechtriem, Director of the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion. The ground-breaking expansion and research activities are decisive to Lampoldshausen remaining the European test centre for all liquid space propulsion systems within the current alliances, also beyond the development of the Ariane 6 rocket. "In addition to operation of the test rigs, our future at DLR Lampoldshausen will lie in providing system competency," added Schlechtriem. For example, the research objectives in the new DLR project LUMEN are to be expanded from the component level to the system level of an entire propulsion system. The LUMEN project involves the development of a pump-operated LOX/methane engine, which will then be transferred to the European research and technology P8 test rig for downstream testing. "Together with our project partners at Airbus Safran Launchers and CNES, we are acquiring data that we can make available to the engine developers at an early stage," said Schlechtriem to explain the expansion of research activities. And the goals are no less ambitious for the operation of major test rigs: "We are preparing a concept for efficient and optimised use of the test rigs, which will employ digitalisation and technologies already used in Industry 4.0. Aspects such as flexibility, fuel supply, data processing, quality and occupational safety are the main considerations in this respect. Here, long-term success will be predicated on the capability to respond quickly to change," Schlechtriem added.

DLR in Lampoldshausen for over 55 years
DLR operates unique test rigs and systems to test rocket engines at its site in Lampoldshausen. These facilities are of crucial importance for European aerospace. They cover the entire portfolio of test requirements – from component and engine tests, to the testing of entire rocket stages. The test site is used for research and development experiments, as well as for conducting qualification and characterisation tests.
The test rigs simulate the rocket in order to provide the greatest possible similarity to actual in-flight conditions during testing. Suitable interfaces supply the engines with all fuels and fluids in stages. The test systems measure the data, and control, regulate and monitor the test objects during ongoing operations. The test rigs can also create specific environmental conditions as required. Satellites and upper stage engines are tested in a vacuum during the so-called altitude simulation. The extremely hot and fast-moving engine exhaust fumes are directly extracted and discharged in a controlled manner via a specially-designed system to ensure that the engine itself can be operated continuously in a simulated space environment.
Research is conducted on a variety of scales, ranging from laboratory combustion chamber investigations to tests under conditions that can be considered representative for stage propulsion systems like Vulcain 2.1 and Vinci. This is made possible by the infrastructure at the site – the only one of its kind in Europe – and the available expertise in designing and testing research combustion chambers. "New technologies can therefore be verified under representative conditions," explains Schlechtriem. "Our research and test activities hence make a decisive contribution to the future of European space transport."
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Mark

Цитироватьvlad7308 пишет:
Цитироватьsilentpom

пишет:
не понимаю - зачем нужен реюзабл и дешевый одновременно? не вижу смысла
нуууу...
тут наверняка несколько факторов
1. дешево - это лучше чем дорого
2. будет или не будет реюзабл РН - неизвестно
 

Да, мы это уже раньше обсуждали что только метан радикально упрощает двигатели, как и ниская стоимостъ.

Prometheus для Ariane 7 ето многоразовый до 5 раз, масса 650кг, УИ на 326с, стоимость 1миллион Евро, а это очень мало. Да, если Роскосмос или Прогресс бы сделали С-5 до 2022 то был бы лучшы от Ф-9.

А ето уже было(?) про: Prometheus Engine DtC & Rapid costing tools:
http://cct.cnes.fr/system/files/cnes_cct/RENCONTRE%20DES%20CCT/PUBLIC/20161214%20Ing%C3%A9nierie%20des%20couts/20161414_CCT_Like_presentation%20ASL.pdf
Земля - это колыбель разума, но нельзя вечно жить в колыбели. Ц.К.Э

 

Mark

Земля - это колыбель разума, но нельзя вечно жить в колыбели. Ц.К.Э

 

Salo

Цитировать  DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace  5 ч.5 часов назад  
3D image of #Prometheus a low cost liquid oxygen–methane engine being developed by @ArianeGroup @SAFRAN @AirbusSpace for future launchers
 
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

http://spacenews.com/esa-kickstarts-prometheus-reusable-engine-with-first-funding-tranche/
ЦитироватьESA kickstarts Prometheus reusable engine with first funding tranche
by Caleb Henry — June 22, 2017
 
ESA is funding Prometheus, a reusable engine program for future launchers. The image above shows the Vulcan 2 engine used for the Ariane 5 first stage. Credit: Philippe Stroppa / Safran  
 
WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency began funding a reusable rocket engine anticipated to be ready for a test-fire demonstration in 2020, the same year as the first launch of the future Ariane 6 rocket.
ESA and Airbus Safran Launchers, the 50-50 joint venture between Airbus and Safran that is rebranding as ArianeGroup, signed a contract to develop Prometheus, a liquid- oxygen-and-methane-fueled engine that would cost 1 million euros ($1.1 million) per copy, or a tenth of what Ariane 5's Vulcain 2 first-stage engine costs to produce. ArianeGroup is working on Prometheus in parallel with development of Ariane 6, which will initially rely on the expendable Vulcain 2.1 engine.
Prometheus, which started out as a small, joint research initiative between the French space agency CNES and Airbus Safran Launchers, was adopted by ESA in December. ESA foresees the engine entering service around 2030 on future European launch vehicles, not necessarily Ariane 6.
"This signing underlines our determination to prepare now for the future of Europe's launchers beyond 2030, while pulling out all the stops to ensure an Ariane 6 first flight in 2020," Alain Charmeau, CEO of ArianeGroup, said in a June 22 statement. "Those two approaches based on continuous competitiveness and innovations are perfectly complementary."
ESA allocated more than 80 million euros to Prometheus at its December 2016 ministerial conference. The agency did not disclose how much of that money it released with the signing of today's contract.
Now that it's an ESA program, Prometheus will see additional industrial partners join ArianeGroup in developing the engine. New partners include Italy-based Avio, manufacturer of the Vega rocket; GKN, a Swedish supplier for Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 components; and Safran' Belgian subsidiary Safran AeroBooster. The companies intend to leverage new manufacturing methods such as 3D printing, predictive maintenance and digital control, and to test the engine at the German space agency DLR's Lampoldhausen engine test facility.
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Искандер

Если Прометей замена Вулкану, то получается двигатель одного порядка тяги? Если так, то Ариан 7 с первой метановой ступенью того же объема как и у А-6 параметрами скажем 306/326с, поднимет по-боле чем А6. Хорошо то как...
Aures habent et non audient, oculos habent et non videbunt

Salo

#35
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=41330.msg1701436#msg1701436
ЦитироватьCalapine пишет:
A further (small) preview of Prometheus from EUCASS 2017.

Source is http://www.forum-conquete-spatiale.fr/

As for the abbreviations:

ALM = Additive Layer Manufacturing
HMS = Health Monitoring System (?)
 
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2017/06/23/arianegroup-develop-esas-future-prometheus-engine/
ЦитироватьArianegroup to Develop ESA's Future Prometheus Engine    
       
By Kendall Russell | June 23, 2017 |

The Prometheus engine. Photo: ESA.
 
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus Safran Launchers, the 50/50 joint-venture set up by the Airbus and Safran groups, which will become ArianeGroup on July 1, signed the first tranche of the development contract for the future Prometheus LOx-methane engine at the Paris Air Show. Prometheus is a demonstrator running on Liquid Oxygen (LOx) and methane for a reusable engine. Applications deriving from it will be able to equip future European launchers as of 2030.
The Prometheus project began in November 2015, with partnership investments between the French Space Agency (CNES) and ArianeGroup, but took on a truly European dimension in December 2016, at the last ESA ministerial level conference in Lucerne, Switzerland. Prometheus was then allocated a budget of more than 80 million euros ($89.5 million).
The contract signed today also marked the addition of European industrial partners to the Prometheus demonstrator project, including Avio from Italy, GKN from Sweden, Safran AeroBooster from Belgium, and the German and French entities of ArianeGroup. The first tests are scheduled for 2020 in Lampoldhausen, Germany, on the site of the German aerospace agency (DLR)
.
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

https://www.techforspace.com/european-space-sector/prometheus-asls-future-rocket-engine/
ЦитироватьPrometheus, ASL's future rocket engine                   
 by Marcin Wolny | 07 February 2017 | European Space Sector
                
CNES and Airbus-Safran Launchers are working on a next generation of the main stage rocket engines, promising reduction of costs by 1/10th and a reusability for over 5 times.
During the ESA's Ministerial Conference in December 2014 design of Ariane 6 was sel ected. Based on a cryogenic main stage with 2 or 4 solid rocket boosters proposal also included a simplified, cheaper version of the cryogenic engine used in the main stage of Ariane 5 – Vulcain 2. New variant, dubbed Vulcain 2.1, while maintaining 1340 kN thrust of its predecessor, will include numerous new technologies in order to reduce production costs, notably a new nozzle extension that will utilize laser-welded sandwich walls and a 3D printed structural reinforcements. Future updates for Vulcain include version 2.2, development of which is currently in an early stages, and almost fully 3D-printed Vulcain 2.3 that's planned once work on Vulcain 2.2 is completed. All these variants will most likely be used in future upgrades to the Ariane 6.                   
                
However, it's no time to rest on laurels. In 2015 French space agency (CNES) and a newly established joint venture Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), thinking ahead, initiated development of the Prometheus (Prométhée). A brand new rocket engine with over a 1000 kN of thrust, that will bring 3 big things to the table: radical decrease of manufacturing costs, reusability and a new fuel.
   
                                       
                 Costs
Design of Prometheus is planned to make an extensive use of additive manufacturing (3D printing). Current aim is to reduce the price 10-fold, from €10 million for Vulcain 2 down to €1 million for Prometheus. Simplified engine design and a use of new techniques will also allow ASL to decrease the manufacturing time by 50%. Safran Engines plant in Vernon (France) already begun production of prototype 3D printed components for the engine.
 
Such a dramatic decrease of the price would enable ASL to profit from investments in the new engine regardless if reusability is proven to significantly reduce costs or not.
                                      
                 Reusability
Prometheus will be the first reusable European rocket engine of its class, designed for a minimum of 5 reuses, however more than 10 reuses are being mentioned by CNES.
Several companies around the globe are already developing reusable launch vehicles. Airbus proposed ADELINE, which could utilize Prometheus. It could also be used in a possible future rocket capable of vertical landing: a 15-meter tall testbed for it is being developed within joint French-German-Japanese (CNES-DLR-JAXA) project called Callisto. Currently, however, there are no plans to use Prometheus in any actively developed rocket.
                                       
                 Fuel
Current Ariane main stage engine, Vulcain, is propelled by the mix of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2), with new engine this mix will be replaced by LOX and liquid methane (LCH4). Liquid methane was never used in a launch vehicle, however currently several companies are developing methane-based engines for future rockets. Using Methane in place of liquid hydrogen has few notable advantages:
 
    [/li]
  • It's easier to store – while hydrogen needs to be kept in temperatures below -252 °C (20 K), for methane it's -161 °C (112 K), which is enough to keep it liquid inside of the rocket without any special thermal protection. It also makes a industrial processing and storage of the fuel cheaper.
  • Its boiling point is closer to the one of liquid oxygen (-183 °C (90 K)), which allows for simpler rocket design, with less thermal protection between fuel and oxidizer.
  • LOX+LH2 has a lower bulk density than LOX+LCH4 (290 kg/m3 vs 820 kg/m3), what means smaller and lighter fuel tanks, feed lines, even turbopumps.
  • Hydrogen embrittlement isn't a problem, which makes the engine and various other components of a rocket (notably fuel tanks) much more suitable for reusability.
  • It doesn't heat up upon expansion and doesn't explode in contact with oxygen, so it's less prone to explosions, again: simplifying the design.
  • It's not building up the pressure in as high rate as LH does (expansion ratio of 233 vs 851) and doesn't require topping the rocket with fuel till the very last moment before the launch – which means cheaper ground operations and lower risks.
However it comes with one notable disadvantage:
 
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  • Liquid Hydrogen offers higher performance (Isp above 300s, while LH2 offers Isp exceeding 400s)
                Schedule
Development of the Prometheus has begun in 2015, with contract between CNES and ASL signed on November. During the ESA's Ministerial Conference in 2016 both parties presented a proposal for ESA to join the development. ESA decided to fund the project with additional €82 million from Future Launcher Preparatory Programme (FLPP).
Looking into the future, the first tests of Prometheus are planned for 2020, which is also the year Ariane 6 will fly. Next generation of launchers is planned for around 2030, which should give it an abundance of time for any possible delays. Looking so far ahead is not an unusual situation in the industry. Designing and qualifying rocket engines is a very time-consuming process. Design of Blue Origin's BE-4 begun in 2011 and it took 5 years till for testing to begin. So it did in a case of SpaceX Raptor, starting 1/3 scale prototype testing last year.
                                       
                 Ariane Next
During the Journée de l'innovation 2017 in Toulouse an additional information about the developments in CNES were released. Under codename Ariane Next the team of 15 engineers lead by Jérôme Vila is pursuing a successor to the Ariane 6. An objective of the new design is to reduce launch cost by half comparing to Ariane 6. It will be designed to carry both: commercial and institutional payloads and its design will be flexible enough to allow for rapid increase in a number of rockets manufactured when market demand from mega-constellations increases, or remain profitable if the number of launches remains relatively low. Due to new players coming into the market, such as Blue Origin, development cycle of the next Ariane is planned to be accelerated, fr om 10 years down to 5.
Future for European heavy launch vehicles certainly looks interesting, and Prometheus will become an integral part of it.
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"