Ariane 5
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Project home: Ariane 5 with ATV (CVEL) at orbithangar.com |
This addon simulates three modern Ariane 5 variants. The A5 G (Generic), the A5 ECA (enhanced with cryogenic second stage), and the hybrid A5 ATV (model that will be used to launch the European ATV ISS resupply craft). Using Thomas Ruth's beautiful free meshes and the CVE-lite programming library, the Ariane 5 is the flagship of the CCCP team's CVEL vessel fleet.
Background
Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift launcher that operates out of Kourou in French Guiana. Capable of inserting up to 10 tonnes into a geostationary transfer orbit, or up to 21 tonnes into 51-degree LEO.
At liftoff, two solid rocket boosters (the EAPs) provide 90% of the thrust for 120 seconds before the central cryogenic stage (EPC), driven by a single French Vulcain or Vulcain-2 engine continues the ascent for approximately a further eight minutes.
The core lofts an upper stage fuelled either by a storable hypergolic propellent (the EPS) or another crogenic fuel (the ESC). restartable a number of times for complicated orbital insertions, including depositing the ATV into low-Earth orbit, multiple payload GTO insertions and interplanetary ejections or an enhanced for increased GTO payloads.
The Simulation
The simulation follows the published Ariane 5 specifications as closely as possible and includes the normal CCCP-fleet features of thrust vectoring, smoke where appropriate and full user-configurable flexibility over payloads thanks to the GPDS system provided by CVEL.
Additional features include automatic engine throttling for max-Q, an optional automatic initial heading alignment program, non-restartable main stage and calculated centre of mass changes, including those produced by payloads.
The ATV
As a bonus several other payload packages are included in the main download, these include Orbiterfan's Mars Express, the Russian Fregat restartable upper stage, C3PO's orbital fuel tank, but probably most significantly, C3PO's ATV.
The ATV is Europe's most visible contribution to the ISS. A 20-tonne Automated Transfer Vehicle intended to rendezvous and dock with the ISS to bring supplies, deorbit waste, provide reboost control and extend the living volume of the station by several square metres.
Despite following ESA and Arianespace's released information as closely as possible, many users have found it impossible to orbit the fully-loaded ATV with the default Ariane 5 ATV configuration in the pack, reducing the EPS's fuel load to 30% (PRPLEVEL 2:0.3) on launch seems to provide a more optimal setup.
The ATV has a fair amount of dV available to it, but its acceleration is pitiful. Plan ahead!