\n<\/p>\n
Team preparing the plasma wind tunnel\u00a0at\u00a0the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA) in Capua, Italy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The drop-test model was built in Craiova, Romania, at Romania\u2019s National Institute for Aerospace Research \u2018Elie Carafoli\u2019 (INCAS) before being shipped to CIRA. CIRA is responsible for the design, integration, and implementation of the drop test.<\/p>\n
Space Rider is ESA\u2019s reuseable spacecraft in development. It will be about the size of two minivans and will allow for many kinds of missions, ranging from pharmaceutical research to in-orbit manufacturing, visiting orbital platforms and more. After staying in Earth orbit for up to three months, Space Rider will return through our atmosphere to precision-land on skids after a paraglider descent.<\/p>\n
Spacecraft that\u00a0return\u00a0to Earth \u2013 such as Space Rider \u2013\u00a0have to\u00a0protect themselves from these intense temperatures, and Space Rider uses\u00a0reusable\u00a0ceramic\u00a0tiles on its belly\u00a0and nose\u00a0to insulate from the heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Space Rider\u00a0reentry\u00a0module\u00a0has two flaps to steer the spacecraft during\u00a0reentry,\u00a0weighing just 10 kg and\u00a0at\u00a0just 90 x 70 cm they steer the 3000 kg module as it\u00a0flies\u00a0into Earth\u2019s atmosphere\u00a0at hypersonic speeds.\u00a0To test the flaps\u00a0as if they were in\u00a0flight,\u00a0CIRA\u00a0subjected them to their plasma wind tunnel, the world\u2019s largest. The flaps were hit with an arc jet\u00a0of gas\u00a0bombarding them\u00a0at ten times the speed of sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n