25.07.2025

Credit: Dassault Aviation

PARIS—Dassault Aviation is pushing for its proposed Vortex reusable spaceplane to become a European Space Agency (ESA) program, Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said July 22.

By taking on the Vortex program, which Dassault outlined to start with a demonstrator and culminate with a crewed version, ESA may be able to realize its ambitions for crewed flight. 

Use cases have yet to be defined, however. And convincing ESA member states to fund the Vortex might be difficult given its similarities to ESA's Space Rider spaceplane. An uncrewed reusable orbital laboratory designed to ferry experiments between Earth and space, the Space Rider is an Avio-led program.

Seen from the fighter aircraft manufacturer's standpoint, the Vortex may provide crucial learnings for future combat systems. It may answer questions about the need for a pilot, and advance hypersonic technology. Dassault is not starting from scratch, as it was involved in the design and aerothermodynamics of ESA's IXV proof-of-concept spaceplane in 2015. Moreover, the shape of the Vortex is close to that of the Swiss Space Systems S3 spaceplane. The defunct startup in 2013 unveiled a design then-prime contractor Dassault derived from its own Vehra studies.

Asked whether he would like to see the Vortex become an ESA program, Trappier answered positively. “Doing space on your own in Europe is not easy,” he said, speaking at the company's first-half earnings press conference. “And there is a real need... Mobility in space is becoming a sovereignty issue, think of supply missions to future small space stations. And then one has to defend oneself.” Dassault will thus design the Vortex for commercial, military and science missions.

Dassault unveiled the project on June 20 and simultaneously signed a letter of intent with ESA, underscoring common interest in having a closer relationship. Under its Explore2040 strategy for space exploration, ESA is looking for innovative solutions to reach and return from low Earth orbit.

Dassault has been talking to ESA about Vortex for several years but first had to overcome hesitation at the French government level, Trappier said. France's armed forces minister announced €30 million ($35 million) of funding to support a proof-of-concept program on June 20.

The demonstrator will perform a suborbital flight at Mach 12 after being launched by a Rocket Lab Electron in 2027, Emmanuel Chiva, head of French procurement agency DGA, said July 11 during a parliamentary hearing. The €70 million ($82 million) program will focus on hypersonic control, thermal protection and maneuverability in the final phase. Dassault will fund more than half of the demonstration, Chiva added.

“We are going to look for partners in Europe, including in Germany,” Trappier said. “We hope to sign contracts with ESA in 2026.” At ESA's next ministerial council, planned for Nov. 26-27 in Bremen, Germany, ESA may promote the Vortex project and ask its member states to back it.

Quelle: AVIATION WEEK