Hermes was a proposed spaceplane designed by the French Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) in 1975, and later by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was superficially similar to the American Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar and the larger Space Shuttle.

In January 1985, CNES proposed to proceed with Hermes development under the auspices of the ESA. Hermes was to have been a crewed spaceflight program launched by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. In November 1987, the project was approved for pre-development from 1988 to 1990, after which authorisation for full development was required. However, the project experienced numerous delays and funding issues.

In 1992, Hermes was cancelled due to high cost and unachievable performance, as well as a partnership with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (RKA) which reduced the need for an independent spaceplane. As a result, no Hermes shuttles were ever built. During the 2010s, it was proposed to resurrect the Hermes vehicle as a partially reusable air-launched spaceplane launch system, known as SOAR.

Development

Origins

During the 1960s and 1970s, there was increasing recognition by European nations that more international cooperation would be necessary for large space projects.

In 1976, CNES commenced studies into a crewed version of Ariane.

During the mid-1980s, in addition to the Columbus Man-Tended Free Flyer (an independent European space station) and the Ariane 5 heavy launch vehicle, CNES championed the development and production of the Space Shuttle as a European initiative akin to the reusable space vehicle programs of the Soviet Union's Buran and the US Space Shuttle. The work share was attributed 15% to West Germany, 13% to Italy, 7% to Belgium, 5% to the Netherlands, 4% each to the United Kingdom, Spain, and Sweden, and 2% or less to Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Ireland. Potential participation by Norway and Canada was mooted. (the MTFF was restructured and ultimately manufactured as the Columbus module of the International Space Station). Hermes was envisioned to transport a maximum of three astronauts along with a pressurized payload. The launch weight would be up to , the practical upper limit of an extended Ariane 5 launcher.

Hermes was to be launched as the upper stage of the Ariane 5. Prior to the 1986 redesign, Hermes was a single spaceplane containing (front to back) a crew compartment for six, an airlock, an unpressurized cargo hold similar to Buran's and the Shuttle's, and a service module. After the 1986 Challenger accident it was substantially redesigned. The crew cabin shrank to carry three astronauts, with the cargo hold pressurized and unable to carry or retrieve satellites. Hermes now consisted of two separate sections: the vehicle itself and a cone-shaped Resource Module having a docking mechanism attached to the vehicle's rear, which was detached and discarded prior to re-entry. Only the crewed vehicle would re-enter Earth's atmosphere and be re-used. The Resource Module and the launcher would be expended. The development of the Ariane 5 was strongly influenced by the requirements of Hermes, such as the extra aerodynamic loads along with an increased reliability factor of 0.9999, while retaining minimal impact on the launcher's commercial competitiveness on non-Hermes missions. The vehicle would have been powered by a pair of 2,000N-thrust liquid propellant rocket motors identical to those used on the L4 low-energy upper stage of the Ariane 5. The baseline thermal protection, was to withstand temperatures of 1,400-1,600 °C for a minimum of 20 minutes and studied by Dassault and SEP, would have consisted of carbon elements with an anti-oxidant coating applied to portions of the nose and leading edges of the wings, while thermal tiles were to have covered the underside of the wing and fuselage.

Mission profiles and infrastructure

Four typical missions were projected for Hermes:

  • Hosting onboard experiments while in an equatorial altitude orbit
  • Flights to NASA's space station Freedom at a 28.5° inclination orbit
  • Flights to ESA's space station Columbus at a 60° orbit.
  • Flights to ESA's uncrewed remote sensing Polar Platform at a 98° orbit

After each mission, Hermes would be refurbished at a dedicated facility in Europe.

Mockups and models

thumb|Hermes mockup behind French president [[François Mitterrand|Mitterrand. Photo taken at Toulouse in 1987.]]

thumb|Hermes mockup on display during the [[Seville Expo '92|Sevilla Expo 92]]

A full-scale mockup was built in 1986, and was shown in 1987 at Le Bourget in May, followed by Madrid in September and Toulouse during October - November. In 1988 the mockup was shown at Strasbourg in Abril, Hanover in May, and Bordeaux in December. With the end of the project in 1993, this mockup was transferred to ENSICA (École nationale supérieures d'ingénieurs de construction aéronautique) in 1996. In 2005 it was brought to Le Bourget to await a possible restoration project.

  • The 2015 film 'The Martian' features a ship named Hermes, although the design is radically different from the shuttle design in real life, and is designed for interplanetary travel.
  • The 2017 film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets<nowiki>'</nowiki>s novelization mentions Hermes as the shuttle used by ESA during its first expedition to the International Space Station (identified as "Alpha").

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Van den Abeelen, Luc. "Spaceplane HERMES - Europe's Dream of Independent Manned Spaceflight.".
  • Moxon, Julian, Graham Warwick and Gilbert Sedbon. "Hermes: France forces the pace." Flight International, 30 November 1985. pp.&nbsp;24–27.
  • Hermes at Astronautix.com
  • Hermes at Aerospaceguide.net
  • 1:1 Mockup photos, including cockpit
  • HERMES, l' avion spatial inachevé...