its first reusable spacecraft

Vehicle reuse is the future of the space race. Not only for the economic savings. Also because emissions derived from the manufacture of new vehicles here on Earth and the amount of garbage there in space are reduced. SpaceX has been working with reusable vehicles for some time and Blue Origin has also done the first tests with a similar rocket. Some other private agencies have reached similar milestones. But no public agency has achieved what the European Space Agency (ESA) wants to do with its reusable Space Rider craft.

A heat resistant structure. The two main challenges facing a reusable spacecraft are resistance to the heat of re-entry on Earth and controlled landing after the return trip. ESA has to overcome both handicaps with its Space Rider, which is why it has recently launched a series of thermal resistance tests. As announced in a statementthey have gone perfectly. The ship is prepared to face the heat of reentry.

A laboratory that returns home. Spice Rider will basically be an unmanned laboratory that will remain in low orbit performing various kinds of experiments for 1-2 months. Afterwards, it will return to Earth with the samples or results that must be analyzed by scientists. Therefore, it is expected that it can be launched and reused numerous times.

Extreme temperatures. To test the heat resistance of reentry, ESA scientists have placed Space Rider’s thermal protection system in a plasma wind tunnel. Once there, jets of gas have been shot at it at a speed 10 times the speed of sound. With this, a temperature of 1,600ºC has been reached, to which all the components have resisted with flying colors.

Also with damage. The protection effect is achieved thanks to the use of a special ceramic material. But what would happen if it suffered damage, for example, from the collision of micrometeorites? To answer this question, the experiment has been repeated, simulating all these breaks. The results have been equally positive.

The landing. This ship will not land in the ocean. The objective is for it to land on the runway, with the help of a type of adjustable parachute. The ship contains software with which this damping system can be guided and controlled, predicting the landing site much better and adapting it to external conditions such as wind.

Important dates. At the moment, the landing system has not been tested. However, it is expected that a first prototype can be tested at the end of this year. It will be done in Sardinia, with the help of a helicopter, which will raise it high enough to land later. There will be no exit from the atmosphere; but, at least, thanks to the experiments that have just been carried out we know that the ship would resist the inhospitable conditions of the return.

If all goes well, it is expected to launch the complete ship and begin its first mission at the end of this decade. There are still a few years left, but everything is going smoothly. Or ship in orbit, rather.

Image | THAT

In Xataka | Europe still has a lot to say in the space race: the launch and loading of the Ariane 64 are the best proof