Reuse in Europe: Prometheus® and Themis reach new milestones
26.10.2023
The Prometheus® and Themis demonstrator programs have made significant progress during the summer at ArianeGroup’s Vernon site in France.
Following the first ignition campaign of the Prometheus® engine on the Themis reusable stage demonstrator in June 2023, testing has continued regularly. The latest test, on October 20, ignited and ran the Prometheus® engine for 30 seconds.
These tests of a complete stage running on liquid oxygen and liquid bio-methane are essential in order to develop the technological building blocks needed for Europe’s future reusable space launchers.
At the same time, the roadmap for the Themis demonstrator is being followed in order to prepare for the flight tests. The Themis tanks are currently undergoing a series of tests to validate the flight subassemblies. The landing legs also underwent their first deployment tests. Finally, the major component parts of the vehicle have been received.
The Prometheus® and Themis demonstrators are European Space Agency (ESA) programs for the development of reuse technologies in Europe for which ArianeGroup is lead contractor.