ArianeGroup has successfully completed a series of hot-fire tests of a 3D-printed, flight-configured 240N hydrogen peroxide thruster.
In a 22 May update on LinkedIn, ArianeGroup senior orbital propulsion engineer Ulrich Gotzig announced the successful completion of the test campaign, which took place on the M11 test bench at the DLR facilities in Lampoldshausen. While Gotzig offered very little detail about the thruster and its purpose, his post did include that its development had been funded, in part, through the European Commission’s SALTO project.
The reuSable strAtegic space Launcher Technologies & Operations (SALTO) project is a European Union-funded initiative launched in December 2022. Led by ArianeGroup, SALTO aims to advance key technologies for reusable launch vehicles, with a particular emphasis on validating vertical landing capabilities. The project is closely tied to the European Space Agency’s Themis programme, which serves as a primary testbed for demonstrating these technologies. Themis is expected to perform its first hop test later this year.