Practical solutions for efficient & structured collaborative work in the frame of CALLISTO, reusable launcher first stage international demonstrator.

Abstract

In order to address the technical difficulties and evaluate benefits of reusability of launchers, CNES, DLR and JAXA decided to join their efforts in developing a reduced scale in-flight demonstrator of a vertical take-off vertical landing first stage named CALLISTO (Cooperation Action Leading to Launcher Innovation in Stage Toss back Operations). CALLISTO vehicle is roughly 13m high and 1.1m diameter, with a mass of roughly 3.5t at lift-off and propelled by a LOx-LH2 engine derived from Japanese Reusable Vehicle Experiment (RV-X). On top of technical brainteasers associated to bringing a launcher first stage safely back to ground, CALLISTO project has to tackle the extra challenge of cooperation across 3 continents & time zones (French Guiana, Europe, Japan), involving multiple cultures. The variety of cultures do not only relate to nationalities (mostly Japanese, German & French) but also to the background of the team members (researchers, engineers, project managers) and to the different "corporate cultures" of the entities involved (national agencies, laboratories, small & big industrial companies). After briefly summarizing the latest milestones & progress of CALLISTO, the paper will focus on practical solutions & processes that have been implemented for efficient & structured collaborative work within the team like shared System Engineering Database and Interface Control shared virtual spaces.