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Innovation
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Innovation is our strength
ArianeGroup draws its inspiration for constant innovation, from the technical excellence, expertise and enthusiasm of its workforce.
For us at ArianeGroup, innovation is a natural consequence of the mix of technical excellence, individual creativity and our passion for space and technology. The instinct for innovation is in our DNA: from the extraordinary performance of our cryogenic engines to the astonishing resistance levels of our thermostructural materials; from immensely powerful solid propellants to the minute precision in orbital trajectories which they deliver; and in the extreme finesse of pioneering optical instruments and lasers. We understand and control every aspect and every stage of every product we design and make, from the molecular structure right through to the complete system.
Ariane 6 is an absolute concentrate of innovation. We are simplifying and streamlining our technical processes, applying the results of years of R&T investment, and implementing cutting-edge design tools and methods, such as a digital modeling facility for concurrent engineering.
But innovation also means creating new, more efficient, value-adding organizational approaches, and changing our ways of working. This is why we are focusing on production and digitalization technologies: virtual reality techniques to make our production facilities even more efficient, 3D printing to speed up design and ultimately to be used in manufacture, and digitalization of all operations and data throughout the life-cycle.
We are actively preparing tomorrow’s space transportation, through our involvement in research programs supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), in partnership with major space agencies and national research bodies such as the national space agency CNES and the aeronautic, space, and defense research institution Onera in France, and the national space research center DLR in Germany. One example is the Prometheus® future engine project, which we have been working on together with CNES since 2015: this is a demonstrator for a reusable liquid oxygen and methane-fueled rocket engine which aims to be cheaper to produce by a factor of 10 than a Vulcain® 2-class engine, the Ariane 5 main stage motor, and provide reusability at least five times. First tests of Prometheus® are slated for 2023.
Today, ArianeGroup’s prowess in civil and military space access technologies is among the most advanced in the world, but it is our aspiration to be an innovation trail-blazer, by making our expertise in the space domain widely available to other sectors. We are therefore leveraging our expertise and disruptive, ground-breaking technologies into a high value-added, R&T-backed propositions aimed at customers both within and outside the space sector.
