launcher 1

Upload: saifizi

Post on 15-Apr-2018

259 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 8/3/2019 Launcher 1

    1/6

    A c t a A s t r o n a u t ic a Vol. 30, pp. 179-184, 1993 0094-5765/93 $6.00 + 0.00Printed in Great Britain Pergamon Press Ltd

    T H E S M A L L L A U N C H E R I S S U E , R E V I S I T E DJ .H . L a c a z e - H . T r a n - T h u a nA E R O S P A T I A L E - F r a n ce

    ABSTRACT

    Our involvement n satellites and satellite launchers ledus to examine the potential market for space launchersof a class below that of the well known ARIANE series.The conclusion of the survey was that the accessiblemarket was qu i t e limited and could not support a majors p e c i f i c developmenLTwo concepts, called E4 and PLS were consequentlyelaborated from already existing rocket motors andelectronics. Their payload capabi lity could reach half aton and one (metric) ton respectively.Orders of magnitude for schedules and costs, both fordevelopment and production are also presented.

    W H A T a n d W H Y ?

    Although the Irend, during past decades, has clearly beentowards increased satellite complexity, size and weight,there has always been lip support to smaller, lessambitious, less costly spaceerafts, and some of it hasgrown into actual achievements. So "small satellites",and as a consequence launchers fit for them have becomea widely discussed topic. We shall restrict to mentionr6f. 1 and 2.As a company intensely involved in launcher design andmanufacture, through our contribution to the inter-national ARIANE program we have naturally exploredthe idea of providing launch vehicles for such smallsatellites. This investigation started by a market survey,which is not the subject of this paper but has to besummarized here in order to explain some of the Optionsdiscussed later.Two kinds of small satellites were considered: micro-satellites, which in terms of launch capability could beclassified as "lOto 100 kg in low polar earth orbit", andmini -satellit es, ranging from 100 to 1000 kg. Theseboundaries arc of course somewhat artificial and shouldnot be considered clearcuL

    Three groups were identified:- these sponsored by one of the US or (then) USSR

    government agencies, which would certainly be caredfor by launchers manufactured by companies of thesecountries, and therefore not eligible for launch or evenbids from us,- these developed in other space faring countries andcoordinated with indigenous launcher developments ,which are neither potential customers since we expectthat ISAS' minisats be launched by MU3S (and laterM5), Isra~,l's by SHAVIT, India's by PSLV, Brasirsby VLS, etc.- remaining market is not so large, and has to be sharedbetween several potential suppliers. European

    "captive" market appears almost non existent, and thefew solvent customers split between var ious ARIANEoptions (r6f. 1 p. 36,43), plus possibly the SCOUTII.

    The conclusions of the survey, as we interpret it, is thatthe various ARIANE Piggy-back modes will handle themicrosat case, and that our market for minisat launchesis at best 1 to 2 per year.However it is generally expeded that avai lability of, orreliable commitments to, a launcher in this range wouldgenerate satellite proposals. This is obvious from thePegasus case, and there is a feeling that the viciouscircle "no launcher thus no satellite plans, thus nolaunchers" has to be broken somewhere.As a straightforward conclusion we understood that themarket does not warrant to develop a new vehicle fromscratch, and that, even if it leads to slightly higher unitcosts, it is necessary to base a design on existing andqualified subassemblies, since a full development couldnot be amortized on so small a launch rate.On these premises we investigated what could beachieved by combining motors and other items whichhave been developed and flown for other purposes. Thisresulted in 2 designs (with some variants), grossly ahalf-tonner dubbed E4, and another yielding approxi-mately 1 ton payload called PLS.

    179

  • 8/3/2019 Launcher 1

    2/6

    18 0 4 3 r d I A F C o n g r e s sL I G H T a n d H A N D Y : E 4

    O u r f i r s t e x e r c i z e w a s c a r r i e d o u t o n t h e b a s i s o fd e r i v a t i v e s o f t h e s o l i d p r o p e l l a n t m o t o r s u s e d o n t h ef r e n c h S u b m a r i n e L a u n c h e d S t r a te g i c M i s s i le M 4 .T h e s e p o w e r f u l a n d r e l i a b l e m o t o r s w o u l d b e s t r i p p e df r o m s o m e s p e c i f i c m i l i t a r y f e a t u r e s , a n d s o m e w h a tm o d i f i e d o n o t h e r r e s p e c t s , b u t t h e y w o u l d u s e t h esa m e p ro d u c t io n l i n e , p ro d u c t a ssu ra n c e o rg a n iz a tio n a n db e n e f i t f ro m th e q u a l i f i c a t io n th a t t h ese h a v e u n d e rg o n eb e f o r e b e i n g p u t i n t o s e rv i c e .T h e m a x i m u m d y n a m i c p re s s u r e i s s o m e w h a t h i g h w it hr e s p e c t t o p r e v i o u s l a u n c h e r s d e s i g n e d h e r e , a n d t h eu p p e r p a r t , w h i c h i n c l u d e s a n e x t e n s i v e f a i r i n gs h r o u d i n g s a t e ll i te a n d u p p e r s t a g e s i s m u c h l o n g e r th a nth e d e n se m i l i t a ry n o s e c o n e . I t w a s th e re fo re c o n s id e re da p p ro p r i a t e t o r e p l a c e th e sh o r t f i n l e ss r e a r sk ir t o f f i r s t

    lF i g . 1: T h e M 4 S L B M a n d i ts E 4 L a n d E 4 Ps a t e l l i t e l a u n c h e r d e r i v a t i v e s

    tf l

    t'l - t~

    ,O t ' ~

    q J I 9 3 0L

    s t a g e, w h i c h i s u s e d m e r e l y f o r s u p p o r t i n g t h e m i s s i lew i t h i n t h e s u b m a r i n e l a u n c h t u b e , b y a l o n g e r s k i r th o ld in g 4 f in s , a p p ro x 1 .2 m 2 e a c h

    Et, L

    A n u m b e r o f m o t o r s w e r e c o n s i d e r e d f o r t h e 3 r d s ta g e ,a l l s e l e c t e d f r o m a l r e a d y t e s t e d h a r d w a r e . W e w i l lme n t io n th e M4 th i rd s t a g e , t h e $ 4 se c o n d s t a g e a n d th eH e r c u l e s / O S C P e g a s u s 2 n d s t a g e . T h e l a t t e r h a s b e e nu se d fo r t h e f i g u re s g iv e n h e re . H o w e v e r t h e d i f f e re n c ein p e r fo rm a n c e i s n o t v e ry l a rg e b e tw e e n th e se 3.T w o v e r y d i f f e r e n t c o n c e p t s h a v e b e e n e x a m i n e d f o r th e4 th s t a g e , t h e r e su l t i n g v e h ic l e b e in g c a l le d E4 L w h e n i tu s e s l i q u i d p r o p e l l a n t s , E 4 P w h e n i t r e l i e s o n as p i n n i n g s o l i d p r o p e l l a n t m o t o r.

    M

    \.

    I

    E 4 P

    a.

    ~1930

  • 8/3/2019 Launcher 1

    3/6

    43rd IAF CongressTh e fourth s tage for E4 L is shown on fig . 2 and 3 . I twou ld u se MON/MMH s to rab le hypcrgo l ics , 1 .2 tonsoveral l , s tored in 6 tanks held around the He bot t le ,pressure fed into 2 x 6 kN S EP engines, developed undert h e ( n o w d e f u n c t ) $ 4 5 I R B M b u s p r o g r a m m e . I t scom pact des ign features a n equipm ent support p latformbear ing a l so the g imbal led eng ines and a co ld gasbal l is t ic at t i tude contro l sys tem. These are somehowwrapped a round the 3 rd s tage mo to r so tha t sho r tguidance rails are provided to ensure clean ejection of theth ird s tage m otor after i t burns out .The pay load fa i r ing u ses the M4 too l s fo r the og iva lpar t , wh ich i s ex tended by a spec i f i c cy l ind r ica lsegment . Volume avai lable for the payload amounts to4 m 3. Clamshell type separation system is derived fro mAR IA NE techno logy. Paylo ad in terface is a s imple bol t-on flange, separat ion being the responsib i l i ty of thesatel li te , a l though com ma nds can be p rov ided by thelauncher on request. The p ayload can be del ivered in anyattitude, and w ith slow spin if required.Elec t r i ca l sy s tems a re a b lend o f M4 ( fo r the lowers tages) and A RIA NE (for range safety in terface), aroundan inert ial reference uni t (s trap d own + gy rola se0 and acomputer drawn from our Tact ical Weapons programs.Accu racy i s s ign i f i can t ly lower than what cou ld beexpected from s trategic miss i le o r A R I A N E g u id a nc esystems, but s ize, weight and cost savings are thoughtto be wor th the compromise . E xcep t the py ro techn ics ,elecu'ical systems are single string (non-redundant).P re fe r red o rb i t a l in jec t ion p rocedure fo r the 500 kmcircular polar orbi t uses a s ingle bal l is t ic phase during4th stage operation: after a main burn 294 s, circulari-zat ion is performed by a f inal 6 s burn , fo l lowing a45 min bal lis tic phase. Pay load is around 35 0 kg.Main technical features are summarized in fig. 4.

    E 4 L E 4 PLength 14.7 m 15.6Diameter 1.9 m 1.9Span 4.1 m 4.1GTOW 37.8 t 38 .0SameI st stag ePropellant loadingBurn timeMax acceleration2nd stagePropellant l oad ingBum t imeMax acceleration3rd stagePropellant loadingBurn t imeM~tx acc elera tion4th stagePropellant loadingBum t imeMax acceleration

    Max dynam ic pressureAccuracy altitude(1 o) inclinationPayload 500 km i 90

    20.2 t62 s4 .8 g8 .0694 .63 .0725 .31. 23001. 8

    1.0 b5 km350 kg

    4 .8S a m e4.5

    Same4 .61. 67990 .935I o50 0

    F i g. 4 : M a i n d a t a c o n c e r n i n g E 4 c o n c e p t s

    181

    yload interface

    Sep 2/3

    ;uidanceRail

    F i g . 3 : 4 t h s t a g e a d a p t e r a n d t a n ka r r a n g e m e n t( t a n k s n 1 a n d 6 r e m o v e d )

    F a i r i n g / 3

    Sep 2/3F i g 2 : E 4 L u p p e r s e c t i o n , s c h e m a t i c

  • 8/3/2019 Launcher 1

    4/6

    182 4 3 r d I A F C o n g r e s sT h e a l l - s o l i d s v a r i a n t i s b a s e d o n t h e s a m e c o n c e p t a sL T V ' s S c o u t o r f r e n c h D i a m a n t f a m i l y , i . e . t h e l a s ts t a g e i s s p i n s t a b i l i z e d , a n d c a r r i e s l i t t le e l e c t ro n i c s .I n d e e d g u i d a n c e , s e q u e n c i n g a n d s a f e t y f u n c t i o n s a r emo s t ly in s ta l led o n th e 3 rd s tag e . Af te r th i s t a i l s o f f , ac o l d g a s A C S p u t s t h e c o m p o s i t e i n t h e d i r e c t i o nap p ro p r ia te fo r 4 th s tag e im p u lse , th en th e la t te r i s sp u nb y sma l l so l id s , e i th er a f te r sep ara t io n , o r to g e th er w i tht h e e m p t y t h i r d s t a g e ( t h i s t r a d e - o f f r e m a i n s t o b econf inned) .

    B es t s t r a teg y , as f a r as p ay lo ad m ass i s co n cern e d , i s tou s e t h e 4 s t a g e s t o p l a c e t h e p a y l o a d o n a s l i g h t l ye l l i p t i c a l o r b i t , i n s e r t i o n p o i n t b e i n g c l o s e t o t h e1 35 k m p e r i g e e . A t t h e ( 5 0 0 k m a l t i t u d e ) a p o g e e a1 05 m/s v e lo c i ty in crem en t i s r eq u i r ed f ro m th e v ay lo adt o c i r c u l a r i z e t h e o r b i t . T h i s r e q u i r e s 2 0 t o 3 0 k g p r o -p e l l a n t a n d e x t r a t a n k a g e f r o m t h e p a y l o a d , w h i c h i sl i t t l e b u rd en i f th e sa te l l i t e i s f i t t ed w i th an A t t i tu d e /O r b i t C o n t r o l S y s t e m . P a y l o a d m a s s c a p a b i l i t y ( n et ,i . e . e x c l u d i n g t h i s o r b i t c i r c u l a r i z a t i o n p r o p e l l a n t ) i s5 0 0 k g . T h e g a i n w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e u s u a l p ro c e d u r ewh ere th e 4 th s tag e p ro v id e s in se r t io n in to c i r cu la r o rb i ti s m o r e t h a n 1 0 % f o r t h i s 5 0 0 k m o r b i t . I t w o u l din crease as o rb i t a l t i tu d e i s r a i sed , an d b eco me n eg l ig ib leb e io w 3 0 0 k in .T h e a p o g e e i m p u l s e h a p p e n s h a l f a r e v o l u t i o n a f t e rp er ig ee b u rn , an d in th e o p p o s i te d i r ec t io n . Th e p ay lo adc o u l d t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e s p i n i m p a r t e d f o r t h e 4 t hs t a g e b u m i f i ts n o z z l e s a r e f a c i n g u p w a r ds . O t h e r w i s et h e 4 th s t a g e c o u l d p r o v i d e d e s p i n b y a y o - y o s y s t e man d th e sa te l l i t e wo u ld h a v e to r eo r ien t b y it s e l f .T h e d r a w b a c k o f t h e E 4 P c o n c e p t i s th a t th e s c a t t er i n4 t h s t a g e p e r f o r m a n c e i m p a c t s o n t h e o r b i t a c c u r a c y ,wh ich i s s ig n i f ican t ly p o o rer th an th a t ex p ec ted fo r E4 L .T h i s i s t h e c o n s e q u e n c e o f h a v i n g d i s p o s e d o f t h eg u i d a n c e s y s t e m w i t h 3 r d s t a g e .V a r i o u s r o c k e t m o t o r s d e s i g n e d f o r s a t e l l i t e s c a n b ep l a n n e d f o r t h e 4 t h s t a g e , f o r i n s t a n c e T h i o k o l ' sS T A R 4 8 o r B P D ' s I R I S . T h e l a t t e r h a s b e e n u s e d f o rt h e f i g u r e s g i v e n i n f i g . 4 , b u t t h e r e s u l t s a r e p r e t t yc lo se fo r b o th .

    T h e r e i s n o t h i n g s p e c i a l a b o u t s a t e l l i t e e n v i r o n m e n te x c e p t t h e s o m e w h a t h i g h ( q u a s i - s t a t ic ) g l o a d d u ri n gI R I S b o o s t , w h i c h i s n o p r o b l e m , a n d t h e b a l a n c ereq u i r emen ts fo r sp in n in g .

    Th ree o p e ra t io n a l co n cep ts h av e b een en v isag ed :- f i r s t i s c l a s s i c a l , u s i n g t h e G u i a n a S p a c e C e n t e r

    , i! !

    ' ~ \ / i

    ?F i g . 5 : L a u n c h e r s u p p o r t u m b i l i c a l p o le

    a n d c h e c k - o u t s y s t em s h e l t e rt h e b a s i c L a u n c h R a n g e f a c i l i t i e s , l i k e r a d a r s ,t~ lemet ry , r an g e sa f e ty , p ay lo ad p rep ara t io n f ac i l i t i e s ,so l id p ro p e l lan t s to r ag e a r ea .T h e l a u n c h a z i m u t s c o v e r a n e x t e n d e d q u a d r a n t fr om1 0" E a s t o f N o r t h ( i .e . a z i m u t 3 50 *) t o a l m o s t 2 0 S o u t h o f E a s t ( a z i m u t 1 1 0 ) .s e c o n d w o u l d u s e t h e s a m e l o c a t i o n , i . e . D i a m a n tz o n e o f C S G b u t i n a v e r y d i f f e r e n t c o n c e p t t h a t c o u l db e d e s c r ib e d a s C o m e - L a u n c h - R u n a n d w h i c h d o e s n oti m p l y f i x e d i n f r a s t ru c t u r e . I t c o u l d t h e n b e c o m p a t i b l ew i t h t h e u s e o f t h e D i a m a n t s i t e f o r o t h e r l a u n c hs y s t e m s . T h i s c o n c e p t , m a d e p o s s i b l e b y t h e s o l i dp r o p e l l a n t m o t o r s , a n d t h e ( m i l i t a r y ) r e a d y - f o r - u s ee l e c t r i c a l s y s t e m s d e s i g n c o n s i s t s o f a s s e m b l i n gv erd e , l ly th e f i r s t two s tag es an d th e (p reen cap su la ted )u p p e r c o m p o s i t e u s i n g a m o b i l e o p e n g a n t ry a n d as i m p l e f o u r - b e a m s s u p p o r t w i t h m i n i m a l f l a m ed e f l e c t o r . A u t o m a t i c c h e c k - o u t i s p e r f o r m e d f r o m a( r e m o t e l y a c t i v a t e d ) m o b i l e s h e l t e r v i a a b a s ec o n n e c t o r an d a m ain u m b i l ica l h e ld b y a p o le ( fig . 5 ).O u t s i d e l a u n c h c a m p a i g n s , t h e g a n t r y , s u p p o r t a n ds h e l t e r a r e r o l l e d a w a y , l e a v i n g t h e a p r o n c l e a n f o rother uses.t h i r d c o n c e p t , w h i c h h a s b e e n e n v i s a g e d m e r e l y f o rm i l i t a r y a p p l i c a t i o n s i s s h i p l a u n c h i n g . T h e l a u n c h e ra n d p a y l o a d w o u l d b e k e p t s t o r e d h o r i z o n t a l i nr e a d i n e s s a s a f u l l y a s s e m b l e d r o u n d o n a n e r e c t o rc r a d l e i n s o m e m e t r o p o l i t a n b a s e . D e c i s i o n o f l a un c hw o u l d i n i t ia t e m o v i n g t h e l a u n c h e r - c ra d l e - c o n t a in e r t oa f l e e t s u p p o r t s h i p a n d a f t e r h a v i n g c r u i s e d t o t h ese lec ted lau n ch lo ca t io n an d ch ec k ed o u t , th e lau n ch er

    ( C S G ) a n d s p e c i f i c a l l y t h e f o r m e r - n o w u n u s e d -b u i l d i n g . O fi a m a n t l a u n c h p a d a n d p re p a ra ti on ~ T P Icourse these w ou ld ne ed extensive refurb ishmen t andmodif ication, bu t the c iv i l w orks ex is t and CSG of fersF i g . 6 : B a l l i s t i c t e s t s m o n i t o r i n g s h i pM O N G E

  • 8/3/2019 Launcher 1

    5/6

    43rd IAF Congress 183erec t io n f ro m th e h o r izo n ta l p o s i t io n an d o p en in g o fth e c lamsh e l l ty p e p ro tec t io n co v er , wo u ld a l lo w tak e-o f f . Track in g an d te lemet ry se rv ices wo u ld b e p ro v id edb y th e sp ec ia l ized lau n ch mo n i to r in g sh ip MO NG E o fth e F ren ch N av y ( f ig . 6 ) .

    A c c o r d i n g t o t h e d e g r e e o f r e a d i n e s s o f h a rd w a r e a n dc r e w s a n d o p e r a t i o n a l c o n c e p t s e l e c te d , d e l a y b e t w e e nd e c i s i o n a n d l a u n c h c o u l d b e f r o m o n e w e e k t o o n em o n t h .S T R O N G a n d V E R S A T I L E : P L S

    S i n c e t h e m a i n p r o p u l s i v e p a r a m e t e r s c a n n o t b ei m p r o v e d v e r y m u c h , p a y l o a d c a p a b i l i t y i m p r o v e m e n tp o ten t ia l o f th e E4 co n ce p t , a l th o u g h n o t n eg l ig ib le , ish o wev er l im i ted . To r each v a lu es o f th e o rd er o f 1 to n ,w h i c h w o u l d a l l o w g r e a t e r f l e x i b i l i t y w i t h r e s p e c t t oe x p e c t e d m a r k e t r e q u i r e m e n t s w e h a v e d e v i s e d a n o t h e ra r c h i t e c t u r e , a l s o b a s e d o n e x i s t in g c o m p o n e n t s , b u t o fla rg er s ize . Th is h as b een ca l le d PLS fo r Pe t i t Lan ceu rd e Sa te l l i t e s , s in ce , a l th o u g h la rg er th an E4 , i t i s s t i l ld war f ed b y th e AR IAN E c las s v eh ic les .A s s h o w n o n f i g . 7 , t h e f i r s t s t a g e i s a c l u s t e r o fM o r t o n T h i o k o l ' s C A S T O R 4 B s o l i d p ro p e l l a n t r o c k e tm o t o r s , t h e s e c o n d s t a g e i s a d e r i v a t i v e o f t h e S L B MM4 f i r s t s tag e , s l ig h t ly d i f fe r en t f ro m E4 f i r s t s tag e d u eto i t s u se a t h ig h er a l t i tu d es , an d th e th i rd s tag e i ss imi la r to th a t p lan n ed fo r E4 , i . e . d e r iv ed f ro m th es e c o n d s t a g e o f t h e M 4 S L B M . I n o r d e r to p r o v i d e b e s tc o m p r o m i s e b e t w e e n ta k e - o f f a c c e l e r a t i o n a n d f l i g h td y n a m i c p r e s s u r e , w e s e l e c t e d t o c l u s t e r 3 C A S T O Rmo to r s . Th is v er s io n o f th e w id e ly u sed b o o s te r f ea tu resa th ru s t v ec to r co n t ro l b ased o n a f lex ib le n o zz le an d h asa l r e a d y b e e n f l ow n o n th e D A S A - S C C M A X U SSo u n d in g ro ck e t .C l u s t e r i n g i s a c h i e v e d b y a r i g i d r e a r s k i r t , b e a r i n g3 f in s , an d b y a co n ica l t r u s s in te r s tag e o n th e f ro n ten d , wh ich m atch es w i th th e c i r cu la r 0 1 .9 m seco n ds tag e . On e o f th e co n cep ts ev a lu a ted i s sh o wn as f ig . 8 .Th e a r ch i tec tu re o f th e u p p er p ar t i s s imi la r to th a t o fE4 P: th e 3 rd s tag e i s f i t ted w i th g u id an ce eq u ip men t an db a l l i s t i c p h a s e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l . T h e 4 t h s t a g e i so r ien ted , th en sep ara ted , sp u n an d ig n i ted . Us in g th es t r a ig h t in jec tio n p ro ced u re th e p ay lo ad c ap ab i l i ty ran g esf ro m 1 .2 t o n lo w a l t i tu d e (3 0 0 k m) , lo w in c l in a t io no rb i t s to 0 .8 t o n h ig h -h ig h (5 0 0 k in , su n - sy n ch ro n o u s= 9 7 ) . T h e e l l i p t i c - i n j e c t i o n / p a y l o a d - c i r c u l a r i z a t i o ns t r a teg y wo u ld r a i se th e p er fo rman ce c lo se to 1 t in th eworst case.A l te rn a t iv e to th e IR IS sp in s tab i l ized 4 th s tag e co n cep to n e co u ld a l so p lan fo r a fu l ly co n t ro l led u p p er s tag e ,l i k e a d e r i v a t i v e o f f r e n c h m i l i t a r y 7 0 2 , o r t h e T V Cv e r s i o n o f S T A R 4 8 , n o w u n d e r g r o u n d t e s t s . T h i sw o u l d i m p r o v e o r b i t a c c u r a c y a t t h e e x p e n s e o f s o m e1 0 0 k g p ay lo ad , d u e to th e sh i f t o f e lec t ro n ics an d th ead d i t io n o f TVC h ard ware o n th e 4th s tag e .

    Vo lu m e av a i lab le fo r p ay lo ad u n d er th e n o se - f a i r in g is7 m 3 . Main d a ta a r e sh o w n as f ig . 9 . M ax im u m q u as i -s t e a d y a c c e l e r a t i o n o c c u r s a t e n d o f 3 r d s t a g e , b u tremains acceptable.M 30-H

    F i g . 7 : P L S g e n e r a l c o n f i g u r a t i o n

    F i g . 8 : M u l t i l o b e d b e a m + t r u ss c o n c e p tf o r 1 / 2 i n t e r s t a g e

  • 8/3/2019 Launcher 1

    6/6

    184 43rd IAF Congres sFor electrical systems and guidance accuracy, one isreferred to the E4, and more specifically E4Pdescription.Basically operational concepts described for E4 couldalso be applied to PLS. Because of the larger size andweight, feasibility of concepts 2 and 3 remain howeveruncertain, and only the "classical" concept I has beeninvestigated (fig. 10). Presumably clustering of theCastors would take place inside the assembly hall, butwhether vertical or horizontal configuration, this has notbeen resolved. Stacking of other stages would be doneon the launch pad. Duration of launch campaign isexpected to be 3 to 4 weeks.

    Stage 1 Stage2 StaRe3Propellant 3x10 t 20 t 8 tBurn time 63 s 62 s 69 sMax 2.3 g 5.9 g 8.1 g, accelerationOverall length 23.3 mdiamelex 2.4 mSpan 3.5 mGTOW 70 t

    Stage 41.6 t7957 g

    F i g . 9 : M a i n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e P L Sc o n c e p t

    Gantry

    Of fices - S2 ore A s s e m b!

    F i g . 1 0 : D i a m a n t s i t e i n G u i a n a L a u n c hC e n t e r

    PROGRAM M ATI CSFrom go ahead to first flight the development has beenestimated to last approximately 3 years. Developmentcosts would be strongly dependent on industrial organi-zation and are expected to lie in the 100 to 200 MSbracket for E4 and slight ly more for PLS; uni t cost of1 launch being between 10 and 20 MS for E4 and 20 to30 for PLS, assuming an innovative organization ofprocurement and launch teams so that there is noexcessive induced cost f:om keeping a permanent largeteam for a scattered launch rate.

    CONCLUSIONSConcepts which have been identified appear technicallysound and economical ly acceptable. Further studies inthe fields of vehicle optimization, electrical systemsadaptation, operations would improve somewhat thelevel and knowledge of performance and costs. They aredependent upon customer interest. If this materializes itwould allow to select the size (E4 versus PLS) and thearchitecture of the upper stage (Liquid, Spun Solid orTVC solid) and to carry-out a genuine B phase beforefirm commitments are taken.

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTThc studies dealing with PLS have been carried out incooperation with Soci6t6 Europ6enne de Propulsion(SEP) and ARIANESPACE.

    R~.f. I

    RdL 2

    REFERENCESGiovagnoli: MiniSatellites; AEROSPATIALEdevelopment IAF 90486ESA SP 298 - Flight Opportunities for SmallPayloads: Workshop proceeding, Feb. 1989