WORLDTECHESA Director Uncertain Themis Demonstrator Flies Before 2027
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Géraldine Naja, the European Space Agency's Director of Space Transportation, told a media briefing she is not sure the first flight of the Themis reusable rocket demonstrator can take place before the end of 2026. Her comments depart from earlier official guidance, according to European Spaceflight.
Doubt over a flight this year
Speaking after ESA's 350th Council meeting in Paris, Naja said the agency may not be able to finish the first Themis flight in the current year. Winter conditions approaching at Sweden's Esrange Space Center could rule out a test in 2026.
Naja also indicated that the agency will settle, before the end of November, whether to carry out the flight ahead of the winter shutdown.
Earlier schedule and the latest update
Earlier, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher had said at his annual press briefing that the agency expected the first Themis hop test in the first quarter of 2026. Until Naja's remarks, official Themis updates had not committed to a revised flight date from either ESA or ArianeGroup.
ArianeGroup's latest update, published on 7 October after the demonstrator completed its second wet dress rehearsal at Esrange, offered little more. The company said teams were working to define a window for the next test.
A later deadline for the hop test
Naja's comments also offered a firmer sense of the programme's timeline, stating that the development schedule requires a hop test before June 2027.
Open questions
- Will ESA decide before the end of November to proceed with a flight this year?
- Will the first Themis hop test take place before June 2027?