Reusable Upper Stage Configurations - System Level Study

Abstract

The following masters thesis contains a Phase 0, system-lever analysis carried out in the context of the work package WP 52 000 from the ImPULSE project at ArianeGroup Bremen, the objective of which was to provide a preliminary engineering assessment of various design configurations for a reusable Upper Stage (rUS) compatible with the Ariane 6 launcher lineup. Accordingly, the information hereby documented includes a review of relevant reusability-enabling technoligies and the establishment of baseline mission parameters, before gradually advancing towards the definition of multiple rUS layouts and their qualitative evaluation through trajectory and aerothermodynamic analyses. On the basis of the obtained results, conclusions regarding the suitability and preliminarly foreseen implications for each configuration are drawn, with the intension of laying the working foundation for a follow-up study at a Phase Alevel.