France launches ASTRE project: Select Ariane Group to develop reusable rocket engines, with thrust benchmarks SpaceX Raptors

Passionategeekz On June 21, the French National Center for Space Research (CNES) announced on June 17 local time that it has selected the ASTRE (Advanced Graded Combustion Reusable Engine Technology) project to lead the ASTRE (Advanced Grade Combustion Reusable Engine Technology) project.

The project aims to develop a full flow-level combusting methane engine with a thrust of 200-300 tons, with performance comparable to the SpaceX Raptor engine.

In addition to the Ariana Group, the project partners also include SiriusSpace and Pangea Aerospace, with the goal of building strategically-level new propulsion capabilities for the French and European aerospace industries. According to the announcement:

• Ariana Group: Responsible for the development of technology maturation and the development of two demonstration engines (Passionategeekz Note: including shrinkage model and full-size prototype)

• SiriusSpace: Leading the maturation of key technologies

• Pangea Aerospace: Undertake the preliminary design of the target engine

Valérie de Korver, vice president of liquid propulsion projects at Ariana Group, said: “The launch vehicle will be larger in the future and its engines need to be stronger. To meet this demand, our engineers are relying on the company’s extraordinary technical accumulation in the field of liquid propulsion to break through current technical obstacles and develop new large-thrust engines for the next generation of heavy-duty launch vehicles.”

According to Ariana Group, the project uses the “test learning method” to accelerate the R&D process, verify the design through real working conditions and shorten the cycle. Ariana Group stressed that the move will drive its “transformation to a smaller, more cost-effective engine architecture.”

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