Ariane 6 Engine Bay Recovery
A Trajectory Optimisation for a Semi-Guided Ballistic Re-entry
L.J. van der Poll (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
M.C. Naeije – Mentor (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
E. Mooij – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
W.J.F. Simons – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
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Abstract
To improve the cost and sustainability of the Ariane 6, the engine bay of the first stage could be recovered for refurbishment. In this MSc research, the feasibility and cost of this mission profile are assessed from a trajectory point of view, making use of the new reusable Prometheus engine under development. To do this, a 3-DOF TudatPy simulation has been set up, and a guidance algorithm based on Apollo re-entry guidance is implemented into it. Five landing locations were selected to investigate the possibility of crossing the Atlantic during the re-entry following a LEO launch, which was deemed possible if a correction to the initial state is performed after the engine bay is disconnected from the first stage. Following an MC analysis, an MDO was performed to find the set of best identified trajectories to minimise the propellant mass needed for this initial state correction. A trajectory arriving at Cabo Verde was selected as the best option for this mission profile. This reusable mission profile was estimated to be cheaper per launch and over its life cycle and could be more sustainable if the boosters were also made reusable. This is because additional boosters may often be necessary to deal with the significant payload penalty that is incurred, although there are possibilities to work around this penalty. An issue that certainly must be addressed is raising the launch cadence to at least 30 launches per year, as below this number reusability may not be a viable option. The economic viability depends on reaching a sufficient launch cadence as much as on the technical recovery architecture. Furthermore, as this research investigated the trajectory, it must still be seen if the required hardware fits within the engine bay. If these issues can be addressed, the reusable engine bay mission profile may prove worthy of more thorough investigation, to determine if it can be adopted for the Ariane 6 and future vehicles.