FACC to manufacture structures for Ariane launch vehicles

FACC has secured the first project in its new space business segment.

The company has received an order from the ArianeGroup to develop and manufacture the Astris kick stage main structure for the Ariane 6 family of launch vehicles.

With the development and production of the Astris kick stage main structure for the Ariane 6 family of launch vehicles, FACC has been awarded a major contract that will open up completely new opportunities for the company in commercial space travel.

Robert Machtlinger, CEO of FACC, said: "By awarding us a contract to participate in the Ariane 6 rocket, the ArianeGroup has placed its trust in us to help shape the new generation of European launch vehicles as a development and manufacturing partner.

“For us, space is an important future topic, which we have defined as a new business field in our 2030 corporate strategy. This is an area where we can make valuable use of our FACC composite technologies, which we have been developing for the aviation industry over the past decades. Our goal is to apply our lightweight construction expertise and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities to provide a carbon solution for the load-bearing structure of Ariane 6 kick stage that will reduce weight and enable use for commercial space transportation through efficient series production."

The ArianeGroup is one of the leading enterprises in the field of space transportation. With its new launch vehicle, the company aims to offer maximum flexibility to its customers in institutional and commercial markets. Ariane 6 is a program of the European Space Agency (ESA), and is designed to provide independent access to space for a wide range of missions.

The kick stage main structure, which will be developed and produced by FACC, is the load-bearing structure of an additional optional stage of Ariane 6 designed to expand its mission range. The component is characterised by its high-strength and ultra-light carbon materials and carries, in addition to the actual payload, four fuel tanks, the newly developed Berta engine and state-of-the-art flight electronics into higher spheres.

The first delivery is scheduled to arrive in Bremen in October 2022. There, the kick stage will undergo further tests for its possible first mission, the ESA's Hera mission - an important step for planetary asteroid defence technology. The goal of Hera is to test the extent to which an asteroid can be deflected from its trajectory by means of two comets passing by the Earth.

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