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BOOSTING LIFT-OFF
The test bench for the new Ariane rocket
booster uses the power of the latest control
and data acquisition systems
The thrust of the booster P120C is around
4650 kN. Thunder strikes the rainforest;
the noise is deafening. Fired for just 135
seconds, the power of the solid rocket motor
is overwhelming – but controlled and
monitored by streams of data.
The scene is the European SpacePort in
French Guiana, South America. In January, the
CNES (National French Space Agency) testfired
its second P120C solid rocket motor, a
step toward the initial launches of the Vega-C
light satellite launcher late this year and the
Ariane 6 heavy satellite launcher in 2020.
P120C is 13.5m long and 3.4m in diameter.
Packed with 142 tons of solid propellant, it
was ignited and produced a flood of flames.
All to validate its design – to monitor, measure
and document all functions and parts with
600 parameters – simulating the complete
burn time from liftoff and through the first
phase of flight.
Unlike a lot of solid motor tests, this firing
was conducted in a vertical position on the
test stand. This static firing was designed to
validate the assembled components of the
motor – the technologies, materials and
production techniques in combination.
The all new P120C is designed and built by
a European consortium involving a joint
venture known as Europropulsion. The P120C
booster has a thrust of around 453,592kg. It
has the world’s largest monolithic carbonfiber
composite solid rocket booster casing –
a single component designed to lower the
cost of flying payloads.
The European Solid Booster Test Bench
(BEAP) was equipped with sensors to gather
data on more than 600 parameters that were
mounted on the stand. The test bench
acquires the measurements and controls the
nozzle in order to check the operation of the
on-board electronics.
The control system now implemented on
BEAP integrates Syclone by Clemessy. This
JUNE \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
control-command software has to ensure
data acquisition and real-time measurement
as well as to control and monitor the entire
rocket testing process - over an area of 2,200
km and in real time.
The tests carried out may require up to
1000 channels with 64 at 200k samples per
second. The data is acquired at a very high
speed of up to 200 kHz per channel. This data
is fully synchronized and available to the
control system with less than 500
microseconds latency including the sigma
delta group delays.
Data-acquisition is interfaced with the
sensors and signals are acquired by Dewesoft
Sirius and SBOX R8 - communicating via an
EtherCAT network. The SBOX R8 offers a key
function; the dual mode. Data are sent to the
data-acquisition supervisor and at the same
time also to the real-time controller.
The Dewesoft Sirius instrument, which is
named after the brightest star in the sky, the
Dog Star, is well-suited for the task. The
Dewesoft R8 instruments are high channel
count, standalone DAQ systems with built-in
powerful data processing computer and SSD
data logging capabilities. Systems can be
configured for a total of 128 analog inputs for
virtually any sensor.
One more test stand firing will follow to
finalize the qualification of P120C. The thunder
of the motor will roar again, while loads of
data are streaming at extreme speed to
ensure control and monitoring. The
partnership of Clemessy and Dewesoft boosts
the lift off. \\
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dewesoft
1 // The test bench for the
hot firing used the Syclone
control system
2 // Hot firing of the P120C
solid rocket motor for
Vega-C at the Spaceport
in French Guiana
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