Europe’s reusable rocket prototype Themis is now installed on its launch pad, following weeks of preparation inside the launch vehicle integration building at our Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden.
After its 3000 km journey from ArianeGroup’s integration building in Les Mureaux, France, Themis arrived at SSC’s Esrange Space Center in Sweden on June 27th. Since then, the rocket demonstrator has been unpacked and prepared for its next phase.
After final check at a Kiruna assembly building, Themis was moved to its hop-test launch pad and hoisted onto a tool to allow the swift assembly of its four legs. This is the first time the rocket stage demonstrator has its four legs installed.
Now, the demonstrator is fully assembled and ready for its wet-dress rehearsal, part of the preparation for the historic first hop-test flight on European mainland. Themis will investigate technologies to demonstrate rocket stage recovery and reuse, through the first-ever European demonstration of a full-scale vertical take-off and landing rocket element that uses cryogenic propulsion.
We were delighted to present this major milestone during a visit by the European Parliament’s ITRE Committee to Esrange, and in the presence of the European Space Agency.
This milestone signals the start of integrated testing, where the connection between Themis and the launch pad’s mechanical, electrical, and fluid systems will be rigorously evaluated. The objective is to successfully conduct a test under cryogenic conditions. These trials will pave the way for an initial low-altitude flight test — including take-off and landing (a hop test) — EU’s SALTO program.
Themis has been developed within ESA’s future Space Transportation preparation program, with ArianeGroup as prime contractor and multiple European industrial partners. The first flight campaign will be realized in the scope of Horizon Europe project SALTO, funded by the European Union.
Step into a 3D experience of a hop-test campaign at Esrange [click on image]
