Forty years of French-German cooperation in space propulsion

The year 2003 saw the celebration of the French-German Friendship Treaty dated January 23,1963 as well as the 40th anniversary of French-German cooperation in space propulsion, a cooperation that was initiated by a forebear of Snecma Moteurs-Space Propulsion Division. Beginning with the award to SEPR by ERNO of Bremen of a contract for the development of a thrust chamber for the upper stage Astris of Europa I in 1963, a long and fruitful cooperation linked Villaroche, Vernon, Bremen and Ottobrunn. The upper stage engine for Astris was designed and manufactured in Villaroche, delivered to Bremen for integration on the stage. Later on Ariane, the second stage and the liquid boosters were developed by ERNO, with Viking engines and propulsion equipollents developed by SEP in Vernon. Most of the development and qualification tests of this engine version were undertaken at DLR's facility in Lampoldshausen, including vacuum tests. Forty years later, both countries cooperated on the Vulcain family development and on the two cryogenic upper stages for Ariane 5. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.