Space Rider way forwardPhase-B1 was completed with the system requirements review board meeting on 21 December 2017 concluding that the project is technically sound. Activities for Phase-B2/C, covering the preliminary design review and the critical design review, started on 25 January 2018. Increasing the volume of the multipurpose cargo bay is a priority to allow for more or larger payloads on each mission. Another focus is to refine the mission operations and the requirements for the ground segment together with the consolidation of the business plan on exploitation.
From the above link...The Space Rider payload bay User Guide
Space Rider missionESA’s Space Rider aims to provide Europe with an affordable, independent, reusable end-to-end space transportation system integrated with Vega-C, for routine access and return from low Earth orbit.Space Rider will debut in 2021 to provide a laboratory in space for an array of applications, orbit altitudes and inclinations.- Related article: Announcement of opportunity to fly payloads to space on ESA's Space Riderhttps://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2018/04/Space_Rider_missionImage credit: ESA
So is any part of this reusable? I get that it can bring experiments back to earth, but it looks like there will be, effectively, no real reuse going on here.
Quote from: Prettz on 04/20/2018 01:53 pmSo is any part of this reusable? I get that it can bring experiments back to earth, but it looks like there will be, effectively, no real reuse going on here.The "Re-entry Module" is intended to fly a minimum of 6 missions (i.e. be re-used at least 5 times), with a turn-around time of 4 months (TBC).From the fact sheet:https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/space_transportation/Space_Rider_factsheet_HiRes_ok.pdf
Space Rider - Developing ESA’s Autonomous Space Vehicle CapabilityMr A. Godfrey, Lockheed Martin UK – Ampthill, July 2017AbstractThe ever increasing demand to access Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has prompted a recentlyrenewed global interest in Launch Vehicle (LV) and Space Vehicle (SV) development. Theprimary aim of new designs has been to reduce the cost of accessing space, often bymaximising vehicle reusability. Despite recent test and demonstration successes, the maturityof the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) reusable LV and SV technology is still consideredto be below that of major space fairing nations; the United States, Russia and China. Toaddress this knowledge gap and maintain pace with the rest of the world, ESA have beendeveloping an autonomous and reusable SV capability known as Space Rider.Initially this paper discusses why an agency or nation may want to develop an autonomousSV and goes on to present an overview of SVs, both past and present. ESA’s SV developmentwith its Space Rider programme and preceding demonstrator, the Programme for ReusableIn-orbit Demonstrator for Europe - Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (PRIDE IXV), are thenintroduced. Following this, an overview is given as to how Lockheed Martin UK – Ampthill(LMUK Ampthill) have been contributing to the development of three critical Space Ridersubsystems; the Aerodynamic Surface Control System (ASCS), Landing Gear and Mid-AirRetrieval (MAR) system. Key design drivers and trade-offs are highlighted to illustrate someof the engineering challenges associated with developing an autonomous SV. Finally it isshown how SV operators can realise a large cost saving by using MAR instead of conventionalLanding Gear.
Aerospace, green light to the development of a new made in Italy ceramic materialInteresting prospects are opening up for the development of a new made in Italy material with applications in the aerospace sector.The new opportunities are opened by the success of the tests carried out on an innovative material for thermal protection developed by CIRA, the Italian Aerospace Research Centre, in collaboration with Petroceramics, a company specializing in the development of high-performance ceramic matrix composites. The material was tested in CIRA’s Scirocco plasma wind tunnel on an aerospace component exposed for 10 minutes to conditions simulating the re-entry conditions from low Earth orbit. The component reached temperatures of about 1200 degrees Celsius showing no sign of degradation, thus proving that it can be employed as a reusable thermal protection.The material resulting from the collaboration between CIRA and Petroceramics proved to be able to withstand extremely high thermal and mechanical stresses in an oxidizing environment. It is a completely new reinforced ceramic composite with the advantage that it can be produced in a rapid, cost-effective manner.The field of application is that of space re-entry technologies. In particular, the positive result of the tests on the new material opens the way for the development of made in Italy thermal protection systems, also useful in view of future programmes of the European Space Agency, such as Space Rider...
ESA’s Space Rider reentry vehicle will be launched on Vega-C. It will provide an in-orbit platform for payloads of up to 800 kg.Its Orbital Service Module, a modified version of the Vega-C AVUM+, extends the time that can be spent in orbit by at least two months before Space Rider returns with its cargo to Earth to land on ground.The maiden flight is planned for 2021.
Space Rider will be launched from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in 2022.
Oh, yes. Space Rider, the reusable mini robotic shuttle which would launch on the Vega rocket to take experimental payloads into orbit (A bit like US X37B). Oversubscribed. But... the vast majority of the cash coming from Italy. #Space19plus
