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In 2024\u00a0the Space Rider team\u00a0is\u00a0running\u00a0a\u00a0drop-test campaign\u00a0whereby\u00a0a full-scale model of the\u00a0future\u00a0orbital laboratory\u00a0Space Rider\u00a0is dropped from a helicopter\u00a0to\u00a0test and qualify the\u00a0deployment of its\u00a0parachutes, at Salto di\u00a0Quirra\u00a0in Sardinia, Italy.<\/p>\n
The Space Rider project is an uncrewed laboratory about the size of two minivans that will be able to stay in orbit for up to two months. The spacecraft comes in two parts, an orbital module that supplies everything it needs to fly around our planet and a\u00a0reentry\u00a0module that brings Space Rider and its experiments back to Earth.<\/p>\n
Over the course of this test campaign,\u00a0that started in\u00a0April\u00a0the teams are using a model of Space Rider that\u00a0is\u00a0has similar a weight distribution as the real 3000 kg\u00a0reentry\u00a0module. This allows the team to test the\u00a0parachutes, parafoil and control winches\u00a0that automatically guide the spacecraft to a soft touchdown on Earth.<\/p>\n
Dropped from a\u00a0maximum\u00a0height of\u00a03.5\u00a0km, drogue chutes\u00a0deploy\u00a0to help slow down the test model\u00a0down to\u00a0a safe speed\u00a0to\u00a0extract the parafoil that will allow the spacecraft to be steered to a landing strip.\u00a0The\u00a0enormous\u00a0paraglider\u00a0is\u00a027\u00a0m long and 10 m wide\u00a0\u2013 around 10 times larger than a human parafoil \u2013\u00a0is\u00a0controlled\u00a0from ground to\u00a0test the\u00a0aerodynamics involved. The test model touched down in a\u00a0soft\u00a0landing\u00a0as planned losing altitude at a slow 12 km\/h.<\/p>\n
Thales Alenia Space is the industrial lead for the tests and co-prime for the Space Rider programme.\u00a0The Italian Defence supports the test activities as\u00a0part of\u00a0a\u00a0national effort to enhance\u00a0its space\u00a0capabilities and international collaboration in the sector.\u00a0The tests\u00a0will\u00a0qualify the spacecraft\u2019s\u00a0whole mission from flight,\u00a0return to Earth, and landing. After the test campaigns, flight models will be authorised for manufacturing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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