BREMEN, Germany — ArianeGroup has started testing what it considers to be a versatile answer to numerous challenges facing European spaceflight.
ArianeGroup quietly began testing a small demonstrator for its Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration (SUSIE) in recent weeks. The vehicle was announced at the International Astronautical Congress in September 2022, but little more had been heard of the internally-funded project.
Testing of a two-meter-tall, 100-kilogram jet engine-powered demonstrator began in October with its first ignition at ArianeGroup’s site at Les Mureaux, according to an initial French language media report.
The project intends to enhance European independence in spaceflight by developing capabilities for both cargo and human transport. It also “aims to enable a competitive, innovative and resilient space logistic for Europe, in a context of very diverse and growing space applications,” according to a recent post on the company’s LinkedIn page.
ArianeGroup described the 1/6th scale “test and learn” demonstrator as the “first concrete step in ArianeGroup’s roadmap to rapidly master and leverage the key technologies needed to validate the concept, notably during low speed flight, approach and landing phases.”
The full sized Susie, measuring 12 meters tall, five meters wide and with a payload capacity of seven tons, is designed to launch atop of an Ariane 64 rocket. It could instead carry five astronauts, seated one behind another facing forwards towards the tip of the spacecraft. Susie is also intended to be fully reusable, potentially reducing long-term costs and increasing mission efficiency.
Parachute and abort tests are being scheduled, with hop testing with the demonstrator expected to continue until Q2 2025, Marco Wolf, program manager for future projects and human spaceflight at ArianeGroup, told SpaceNews at the Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen, Germany, Nov. 16.
The early jet…
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