With a stated goal of “accelerating the Use of Space in Europe”, 2021 witnessed the establishment of an independent High-Level Advisory Group by the ESA Director General. The group subsequently published a report recommending to “further investigate the technical, political, programmatic and economic relevance of developing a Europe-made human-rated space transportation solution”. The notion of a European human launch system attracted significant interest from media outlets across all ESA member states, prompting the organization to contemplate the creation of a preliminary concept, envisioned as an “inspirator” that would help catalyze ongoing discussions on the subject. Against this backdrop, in early 2023, the Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) at ESTEC launched a series of studies under the umbrella name Human Inspirator Co-Engineering (HICE) exploring this topic further.
Objectives
Our XR lab was requested to support the HICE initiative at several levels, including in the early stages of visualizations. Working on this project required a close collaboration with the CDF in order to translate relevant engineering insights into compelling visuals. Doing so provided us with a unique opportunity to help shape a future European human space vehicle.
What I did
Through multiple tele-meetings and email exchanges with relevant CDF staff, we sought to establish a broad understanding of the general direction of the HICE project. Once this foundational understanding was reached, I worked with my colleague, Francesco Cesarano, to produce a set of low fidelity sketches highlighting key elements of the envisioned space vehicle. Following several rounds of iterative refinements, we ultimately developed a more intricate 3D model, laying the groundwork for subsequent visualizations. Unless stated otherwise, the models and illustrations featured in this post were all made by me.
Workflow
The HICE space vehicle was envisioned as a versatile solution capable of executing a diverse range of missions, spanning from cargo deployment in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to crew transportation to the Gateway lunar station – all while upholding European autonomy in space. This necessitated its compatibility with the forthcoming European Ariane 64 launch system. However, due to limited payload capacity of the A64, it was agreed that the vehicle would need to be divided into three separate stages, each launched independently and subsequently assembled in Earth’s orbit. Our initial sketches reflected this.
The sketches were continuously shared with the CDF team to gather feedback, leading to multiple rounds of iterative refinements of key design elements. For instance, the optimal positioning of solar panels was not immediately clear. Our sketches played a valuable role in catalyzing additional discussions on such design considerations.
Once an agreement was reached regarding the look of the spaceship, we proceeded to create a more detailed 3D model. Stage 1 (ESM & Crew module) was created by repurposing and editing an existing 3D model of the Orion spacecraft. Stage 2 and 3 (Tug and Tanker) were created collaboratively by Francesco Cesarano and myself. I then textured the model using Substance Painter.
This model subsequently provided us with the means to relatively quickly produce renderings as requested. In the illustration below, for example, I was tasked with depicting the European space vehicle departing Earth’s orbit.
