The first hot-fire test campaign of the reusable Prometheus®engine on the Themis launcher core stage demonstrator has taken place successfully at ArianeGroup’s Vernon (France) site
This test of a complete stage running on liquid oxygen and liquid bio-methane is a first in Europe
This is a key step for these two European demonstrators which are designed to develop the technological building blocks required for reusability
On June 22, 2023 at its Vernon site in France ArianeGroup successfully carried out the final test in the ignition campaign of the reusable Prometheus®engine on the reusable Themis rocket stage demonstrator, which is being used as the test bench. The engine performed a 12-second burn.
Prometheus® and Themis are European Space Agency (ESA) programs for which ArianeGroup is the lead contractor. This test campaign was carried out within a short time-frame thanks to the support of France Relance(1), for which the French space agency CNES is the space component operator.
“This successfully concluded test campaign marks a first concrete step for development of reusable launchers built in Europe. The complete test of the Prometheus® engine, carried out directly on the reusable Themis stage demonstrator, has been particularly eagerly anticipated as it opens up highly promising avenues for the future family of European launchers. The campaign at Vernon was made possible by the close collaboration of the teams from ArianeGroup, ESA, and CNES, and the support of France Relance,” said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup.
Prometheus®, developed by ArianeGroup with its European partners, is a new-generation, reusable, high-thrust (100 ton) engine which runs on liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane (LCH4). This test campaign consisted of firing the Prometheus® engine on Themis, as the test bed. The successful ignition of Prometheus® is a first in Europe for this class of engine. For this campaign, ArianeGroup used bio-methane fuel, in line with the company’s aim of trail-blazing environmental innovation.
Carrying out these tests on Prometheus® and Themis together on the PF20 test bench at Vernon will allow characterization of the operating behavior of both engine and stage in an extended mission profile. Prometheus® engine testing will continue at the end of 2023 on the German Aerospace Center (DLR) test bench at Lampoldshausen, Germany.
ArianeGroup will soon be setting up a Prometheus® Users Club, along the lines of the Ariane 6 Users Club. This step marks the beginning of marketing Prometheus® to all interested European parties.
Themis is a reusable rocket stage demonstrator for which ArianeGroup is the lead contractor. Two years after the contract for the initial phase of Themis was signed with ESA, this first combined test campaign with the Prometheus®engine is a key step in the progress of the project. It paves the way for the next test campaign, to be carried out at Kiruna in Sweden, under the European Union’s Horizon Europe program (SALTO project).
The Prometheus® engine and the reusable Themis stage are central to Europe’s strategy for preparing its future launchers.
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