Callisto

Active Re-Usable

National Center of Space Research (CNES)

None

Description

Callisto is a demonstrator designed to conduct flight testing and mature the complex technologies required to return a launcher to Earth, as well as refurbishment operations between flights, and to precisely cost an operational European launcher with a reusable first stage (it is not intended to become an operational launcher). Standing for “Cooperative Action Leading to Launcher Innovation in Stage Toss-back Operations”, Callisto is a project being pursued with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the German space agency DLR. A large number of international contractors are also contributing to the experiment, among them ArianeGroup and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Specifications
  • Stages
    1
  • Length
    13.0 m
  • Diameter
    1.1 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
  • Thrust
    46.0 kN
  • Apogee (Sub-Orbital)
    20.0 km
Family
  • Name
    Callisto
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Callisto
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

National Center of Space Research

Government
CEO: François Jacq
CNES 1961

The National Center of Space Research, or CNES, is a French National Agency in charge of France's space program. In partnership with the US and Russia, they have put 10 people in space. CNES works in tandem with the larger ESA to develop the Ariane 5 and work on other probes and satellites. They are working with Germany to develop a cheaper and more efficient reusable rocket, which hopefully will be ready to fly by 2026.

Upcoming Spaceflights


Callisto | Flight 1

National Center of Space Research | France
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:

First test flight of the Callisto VTVL demonstrator.

Suborbital Callisto - Maiden Flight Diamant Launch Area Landing Pad
Explore Share

Long March 2D
Success
2 hours, 53 minutes ago
PIESAT-2 13-16
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.


Electron
Success
10 hours, 21 minutes ago
Owl By The Dozen (StriX Launch 12)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
1 day, 20 hours ago
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…


Kuaizhou 11
Success
2 days, 11 hours ago
SpaceTY-51 & 52
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

2 Earth observation radar satellites built by the Chinese satellite manufacturer SpaceTY.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 12 hours ago
USSF-259
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

USSF-259 is a classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield …