CNE SPRESS RELEASE

November 13, 2003

5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LAUNCHER TECHNOLOGY

MADRID, SPAIN - 25 TO 27 NOVEMBER 2003
SPACE LAUNCHER MISSIONS, CONTROL AND AVIONICS

From 25 to 27 November 2003, CNES is holding its fifth international conference on launcher technologies in Madrid, Spain. Backed by EADS ST, Spanish firms SENER and CRISA, the European Space Agency and the Madrid Community, the conference will focus on space launcher missions, control and avionics. Previous conferences were held in Toulouse (1998), Rome (2000), Strasbourg (2001) and Liège (2002).

This event will bring together launch industry professionals to encourage exchanges and promote innovative technologies for expendable and reusable launch vehicles (ELVs/RLVs). Topics covered will include:
- mission analysis
- trajectory and performance optimization
- launch vehicle navigation, guidance and control; associated flight control systems
- redundancy and dependability management
- modelling and simulation
- electrical architectures and equipment (sensors, actuators and processors)
- space environment factors in avionics
- flight software
- control and avionics qualification processes, flight operations

The conference, which has attracted 81 papers, will be looking at launch vehicle programmes in Europe (Ariane, Vega and future RLVs in France and Germany), the United States, Japan and Brazil launch vehicles. Europe’s engineering and programmatic community will be in full attendance, and the international launch services community will be well represented with participants from 10 nations.

Spanish industry has also worked extremely hard to make this conference a success, with strong support in particular from CDTI (the Spanish centre for development of industrial technology), the Madrid Community and firms CRISA and SENER.

The opening session on Tuesday 25 November will be attended by Luis Blasquez, Councillor with responsibility for Economics and Technology Innovation, representing the Madrid Community; Marc Pircher, CNES Director of Launch Vehicles; Antonio Fabrizi, ESA Director of Launchers; Serge Petit, Senior Vice-President System Design and Tests, EADS ST; and Vicente Gómez, CDTI Director General.

At this opening session, the two conference co-chairpersons, Isabelle Rongier from the CNES Launch Vehicles Directorate and Charles Vallet from EADS, will welcome conferees, present speakers and outline the conference programme.