Space Rider's nose

Detail on the first full-size Space Rider drop-test model: the nose!

The drop-test model was built in Craiova, Romania, at Romania’s National Institute for Aerospace Research ‘Elie Carafoli’ (INCAS) before being shipped to the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA) in Capua, Italy. CIRA is responsible for the design, integration, and implementation of the drop test.

Space Rider is ESA’s 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.

Roughly the size of a mini-van, the drop-test model is a full-size stand-in for the 4.6-m long reentry module, Space Rider lands on skis with the landing gear permanently open on this model as the mechanism is not part of the drop test.