Name: ESA is building its first reusable spaceplane
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ESA is building its first reusable spaceplane

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Europe’s space agency is getting its very first reusable spaceplane.As the name suggests, a is a combination spacecraft/airplane. The one ESA is building, Space Rider, will launch aboard a rocket, but reenter Earth’s atmosphere and land on a runway like an airplane.The uncrewed craft can then be flown again five more times — and each flight will be a new opportunity for groundbreaking scientific discoveries.The of space can give scientists the opportunity to perform experiments that would be impossible on Earth. However, scientists’ access to microgravity is extremely limited.The astronauts aboard the ISS can only perform so many experiments, and even if an experiment doesn’t require a human scientist, getting it into space is both complicated and expensive. can provide cheaper access to space — each time a craft is reused, its per-flight cost drops.By building a reusable spaceplane, ESA hopes to give researchers the opportunity to perform more microgravity experiments, potentially leading to in everything from pharmaceuticals to robotics.ESA first Space Rider in 2016, and on December 9, it signed contracts dedicating more than $200 million to the building of the spaceplane.“ESA’s Space Rider program has now moved from being a vision to a reality,” Giorgio Tumino, ESA’s head of Space Rider developments, said in a .Once completed, Space Rider will be about the size of two minivans. It’ll have a cargo bay capable of carrying more than 1,700 pounds of experiments and tech into space, where it can remain for up to two months at a time.ESA plans to select the initial payloads for its spaceplane in the first quarter of 2021. The craft’s maiden flight is expected to take place in the second half of 2023.Space Rider will launch on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The South American site is ideal because it’s close to the equator, which gives the spacecraft a boost using the speed of the Earth’s rotation.Where it will land is still up in the air, though — ESA is debating between a pair of landing sites in French Guiana and Portugal.We’d love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at . RelatedUp Next2020 was a big year for space news. Here are five achievements in space exploration that were particularly awesome. to Freethink for more great stories&nbsp; Notice: JavaScript is required for this content. Challenges Video Freethink Subscribe We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.

Europe’s space agency is getting its very first reusable spaceplane.As the name suggests, a is a combination spacecraft/airplane. The one ESA is building, Space Rider, will launch aboard a rocket, but reenter Earth’s atmosphere and land on a runway like an airplane.The uncrewed craft can then be flown again five more times — and each flight will be a new opportunity for groundbreaking scientific discoveries.The of space can give scientists the opportunity to perform experiments that would be impossible on Earth. However, scientists’ access to microgravity is extremely limited.The astronauts...

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ESA is building its first reusable spaceplane

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