Hermès Space Shuttle

Byeman said:
FYI. Hermes is not a "Space Shuttle". It is a winged spacecraft or spaceplane.
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The way ESA itself talks about Hermes can lead a person to find both terms acceptable,

In the early 1980s, the French space agency CNES started investigating a small spaceplane design to be launched on an Ariane rocket. It was envisioned that Hermes would service a small space station, the Man-Tended Free Flyer (MTFF), built primarily by German and Italian industry under ESA's Columbus programme.

By 1984, Hermes had evolved into a 'mini' space shuttle capable of carrying a crew of 4-6 plus a 4500 kg payload in its cargo bay. This was too heavy for the existing Ariane 4 launch vehicle, so CNES began looking at uprated Ariane versions for the 1990s. Hermes development was a major driver in the specification for ESA's new Ariane 5 launcher.
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www.esa.int

History: Hermes spaceplane, 1987

Hermes, 1987: Hermes was to have been part of a manned spaceflight programme providing independent European manned access to space. Designed to take three astronauts to orbits of up to 800 km altitude on missions of 30 to 90 days, the Hermes spaceplane would have been launched using the Ariane 5...
www.esa.int

Spaceplane does fit as the proper term for the thing and is the term most seen,
for instance,
ESA's Hermes manned spaceplane was planned to service the Columbus Man-Tended Free-Flyer and the International Space Station Columbus Attached Laboratory. The project was approved at the Ministerial Meeting in November 1987; the meeting of November 1992 reoriented Hermes into a technology programme. [Image Date: 1990-00-00] [91.03.017-001]
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www.esa.int

Hermes cutaway

Hermes cutaway
www.esa.int

Hermes was intended to provide independent European manned access to space. Designed to take three astronauts to orbits of up to 800 km altitude on missions of 30–90 days, the spaceplane would have been launched using the Ariane 5 rocket.
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www.esa.int

Hermes spaceplane

Hermes spaceplane
www.esa.int
 
Yes, Avion Spatial/Spaceplane was the preferred term. That's what most of the official publications at the time used (ESA Bulletin...),

Avion Spatial Hermes (ASH, HSP in english) also became the official name for the forward, recoverable part of Hermes.

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While alternatives occasionaly appeared there are sources that say that the term shuttle was disliked.



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Byeman said:
FYI. Hermes is not a "Space Shuttle". It is a winged spacecraft or spaceplane. The Space Shuttle was a launch vehicle.
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you absolutely right, Byeman

Sadly they promoted the 1983 version of Hermes as the French [Space] Shuttle in french media and Press Release.
From 1987 it became official ESA program still label Shuttle not Glider in Press Release...
 
There was supposed to be an astronaut-pilot training center in Brussels, with a Hermes Training Aircraft similar to the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA, a modified Gulfstream II). The picture below is a model of the proposed training center with, what looks like a Gulfstream on the apron. Any idea what the Hermes astronaut training aircraft was supposed to be and any evidence that any aircraft were modified for this role?

NASA Tech Briefs June 1991 indicate that the Airbus and Falcon were considered during Dassault's studies into a Hermes Carrier Aircraft and a Hermes Trainer Aircraft.
 

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I would think that Hermes is more of a winged spacecraft than Spaceplane Byeman, true Spaceplane's are more like the BAE HOTOL.
 
1985
 

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A lot of work already done--I am surprised the Dream Chaser guys didn't choose this lay-out.

Falcon Heavy ought to be able to handle this even with some weight creep and still recover the boosters.
O/T..had FH been around in the 70s, how might the Voyagers have handled the extra umph?
 
publiusr said:
A lot of work already done--I am surprised the Dream Chaser guys didn't choose this lay-out.

Falcon Heavy ought to be able to handle this even with some weight creep and still recover the boosters.
O/T..had FH been around in the 70s, how might the Voyagers have handled the extra umph?
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there was extra umph in Titan IV, Atlas V and Delta IV long before Falcon Heavy.
 
Proprietary data that is moldering under dust and earns zero Euros...in effect- they own one hundred percent...of nothing.

If SLS and Orion dies, that service module of theirs goes nowhere--does nothing. They might just work with them then.
 
publiusr said:
Proprietary data that is moldering under dust and earns zero Euros...in effect- they own one hundred percent...of nothing.

If SLS and Orion dies, that service module of theirs goes nowhere--does nothing. They might just work with them then.
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Nope, it doesn't work that way.
 
One of last version Hermes
with ejection Seats and HRM (Hermes Resources Module)

HRM serve 3 missions types:
Service MTTF (here Label as CFFL)
30 day Mission
MIR docking mission what need additional Engines and propellants to get Hermes to 54° orbit

Source: Flug Revue 3/1990
 

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From Aviation magazine 1-7-1985
 

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publiusr said:
Proprietary data that is moldering under dust and earns zero Euros...in effect- they own one hundred percent...of nothing.

If SLS and Orion dies, that service module of theirs goes nowhere--does nothing. They might just work with them then.
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All data from Hermes went in Switzerland for free. Then you don't know who had access to it, granted that they were not prohibited actors.
 

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