Vega is an expendable launch system in use by Arianespace jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Development began in 1998 and the first launch took place from the Centre Spatial Guyanais on 13 February 2012.
A spaceplane is a vehicle that can fly and glide like an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and maneuver like a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbital spaceplanes tend to be more similar to conventional spacecraft, while sub-orbital spaceplanes tend to be more similar to fixed-wing aircraft. All spaceplanes to date have been rocket-powered for takeoff and climb, but have then landed as unpowered gliders.
Skylon is a series of concept designs for a reusable single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane by the British company Reaction Engines Limited (Reaction), using SABRE, a combined-cycle, air-breathing rocket propulsion system.
SABRE is a concept under development by Reaction Engines Limited for a hypersonic precooled hybrid air-breathing rocket engine. The engine is being designed to achieve single-stage-to-orbit capability, propelling the proposed Skylon spaceplane to low Earth orbit. SABRE is an evolution of Alan Bond's series of LACE-like designs that started in the early/mid-1980s for the HOTOL project.
The National Institute for Aerospace Technology "Esteban Terradas" is an autonomous agency of the Spanish public administration dependent on the Secretariat of State for Defence (SEDEF). It is responsible for the aerospace, aeronautics, hydrodynamics, and defense and security technologies research.
Avio S.p.A. is an Italian company operating in the aerospace sector with its head office in Colleferro near Rome, Italy. Founded in 1908, it is present in Italy and abroad with different commercial offices and 10 production sites. Avio operates in:
El Arenosillo Test Centre (CEDEA) is the name of a rocket launch site for suborbital rockets managed by INTA, located near Mazagón in Spain. It is located in the province of Huelva, Andalucía, in the southwest coast of Spain (37.1° N, 6.7° W). CEDEA is adjacent to the Center of Excellence for Unmanned Systems (CEUS). El Arenosillo is also the location of an autonomous astronomical observatory of the BOOTES network, with two domes and three telescopes.
The Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is a technology development and maturation programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). It develops technologies for the application in future European launch vehicles (launchers) and in upgrades to existing launch vehicles. By this it helps to reduce time, risk and cost of launcher development programmes.
Started in 2004, the programmes initial objective was to develop technologies for the Next Generation Launcher (NGL) to follow Ariane 5. With the inception of the Ariane 6 project, the focus of FLPP was shifted to a general development of new technologies for European launchers.
FLPP develops and matures technologies that are deemed promising for future application but currently do not have a sufficiently high technology readiness level (TRL) to allow a clear assessment of their performance and associated risk. Those technologies typically have an initial TRL of 3 or lower. The objective is to raise the TRL up to about 6, thus creating solutions which are proven under relevant conditions and can be integrated into development programmes with reduced cost and limited risk.
Tronador is a series of Argentine rockets, including the Tronador I and Tronador II vehicles, to develop a liquid-propellant rocket expendable launch system called ISCUL.
Capricornio was a Spanish satellite launch vehicle developed by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) in the 1990s. It was expected to be a low cost solution to place up to 70 kg payloads into 600 km polar orbits or 60 to 140 kg payloads into low Earth orbit. The Capricornio program was cancelled in 2000. It was similar to the Condor missile from Argentina and its test, scheduled for 1999/2000, was not conducted.
Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It replaces the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. The stated motivation for Ariane 6 was to halve the cost compared to Ariane 5, and increase the capacity for the number of launches per year.
Teruel Airport is an airport near Teruel in the Teruel Province of Spain. Known under the commercial name Plataforma Aeroportuaria-Teruel (PLATA), it was certified for public use by the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA) on 5 February 2013, after being repurposed from an original military airbase. Permission for air operations was granted by the AESA on 28 February 2013. The airport serves as an aircraft maintenance and aircraft storage facility for the Tarmac Aerosave company, and has no passenger traffic.
Zero 2 Infinity is a private Spanish company developing high-altitude balloons intended to provide access to near space and low Earth orbit using a balloon-borne pod and a balloon-borne launcher.
The Prometheus rocket engine is an ongoing European Space Agency (ESA) development effort begun in 2017 to create a reusable methane-fueled rocket engine for use on the Themis reusable rocket demonstrator and Ariane Next, the successor to Ariane 6, and possibly a version of Ariane 6 itself.
Miura 1 is a suborbital recoverable launch vehicle developed by the Spanish company PLD Space. It is planned to be the first recoverable launch vehicle in Europe.
Miura 5 is a two-stage European orbital recoverable launch vehicle of the Spanish company PLD Space currently under development. Miura 5 will be 24.9 m long, capable of inserting 900 kg of payload into a low Earth orbit (LEO), featuring an optional kick stage that can circularize the orbits of satellites. All stages are planned to be liquid-propelled. The launch vehicle was previously called Arion 2 but in 2018 PLD Space changed its name.
El Hierro Launch Centre is a proposed project by Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) to create a spaceport on the island of El Hierro, part of the Canary Islands. It would be located in the south of the island, in the area of Tacorón, 5 km from La Restinga. in the municipality of El Pinar, Canary Islands. It is being proposed as a center of civil use exclusively, for the launch of micro- and nanosatellites with scientific or commercial objectives, such as telecommunications or Earth observation.
The INTA-100 vehicle was a small 2-stage meteorological sounding rocket designed and developed between the 1980s and the 1990s by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA). The final design was entirely produced in Spain to be used by the Instituto Nacional de Meteorología in conducting experiments on the atmosphere.
TEPREL is a family of rocket engines designed and built by the Spanish aerospace company PLD Space for their Miura 1 and Miura 5 launch vehicles. The TEPREL engine, named after the Spanish reusable engine program that is financing its development, uses kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellants. So far, several versions of this engine, intended to propel Miura 1, have been developed and tested on the company's own liquid propulsion test facilities located in Teruel, Spain.
Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) is a German New Space start-up located in Augsburg. It was founded in 2018 with the mission to build rockets just like cars. Its multistage rocket, RFA One, is currently under development and scheduled to launch in April 2024.
