Themis reaches for the sky

Standing tall! The tank developed for Themis, the reusable rocket stage demonstrator for a future launcher developed by ArianeWorks, was successfully raised vertical on November 4.

The tank for Themis, a reusable stage demonstrator developed by ArianeWorks, the acceleration platform launched by CNES and ArianeGroup, has been codenamed ‘Strike’.

It was successfully raised vertical on November 4. This involved the scale 1 testing of several innovations designed for Themis including a transverse internal fuel line and a common bulkhead between oxygen and methane tanks.

The whole operation was successfully managed at the PF20 test zone on the ArianeGroup site in Vernon, France, formerly used for the Ariane 4. It paves the way for filling tests, ranging from simple to complex, in coming weeks.