VOLARE

Partners

ArianeGroup (prime)
ESA (contractant)
Maiaspace
Thales Alenia Space Italy
SpaceDreams

key words

Life cycle assessment
Future family of launch vehicles
Ecodesign
Launch emissions
Propellant production

current status

 Closed (2023-2024)

context

The VOLARE project (Visionary Offer for a European family of LAunchers based on Common Building Blocks and Reusability), led by ArianeGroup, investigated the technologies and proposed a vision for a future family of launchers, to succeed to Ariane 6 and Vega C in the 2035-40s. ESA required design of concepts « with specific attention to […] environmental sustainability.», so EPFL joined the consortium to bring its knowledge about space sustainability and test the use of its tool, the Assessment and Comparison Tool (ACT).

Objectives / achievements

EPFL contributed to the design loops along the project by integrating an environmental life cycle assessment that is simplified for early phase, space-specific, and prospective since the systems are expected in 2035-40.

The EPFL staff worked with an environmental engineer within ArianeGroup, using specialised software including the Assessment and Comparison Tool (ACT). They worked iteratively with the systems engineering team to collect data, validate assumptions and decisions, and share insights about design choices regarding environmental criteria.

Additional research was done in parallel on narrower topics, specifically regarding propellant production and reusability.

Finally, a transverse “technology” maturation synthetic sheet was written to highlight the potential improvements to the LCA methodology that are still required to improve the analysis and which projects are necessary to reach that goal.

Image2

https://indico.esa.int/event/516/contributions/9946/

References

Screening life cycle assessment of families of future reusable launchers for early-stage ecodesign considerations in the VOLARE project
Mathieu Udriot, Blandine Quelennec - Conference: Cleanspace Industry Days 2024