Ariane 5 booster on the move

Ariane 5 booster being transferred to the Final Assembly Building for the Ariane 503, Advanced reentry Demonstrator mission at the European spaceport in French Guiana.

ESA's Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator (ARD) was launched into space and then returned to Earth to test technologies required.

It was launched by Ariane 5 on Flight 503, flight number V112 on 21 October 1998. Once it was injected into orbit, the Advanced Reentry Demonstrator began its descent, entering the upper atmosphere at a velocity of over 27 000 km/h. Fifteen minutes later, it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. It was equipped with technology that allowed its flight and landing to be performed with unequalled precision at the time.