On February the 19th CIRA and the Swedish Research Center, SSC have signed the agreement for the launch of the Mini-Irene capsule aboard the Sounding Rocket Maser 15 as part of the S1X3-M15 mission, scheduled for May 2022.
Designed by CIRA with the Neapolitan ALI Scarl consortium and the University Federico II of Napoli, the Mini Irene capsule is a demonstrator of an innovative thermal protection system for the atmospheric re-entry.
Having successfully passed the qualification tests for mechanical loads, carried out at CIRA Space Qualification Laboratory, in the coming weeks the capsule will be delivered to SSC where it will be subjected to pre-launch tests together with the other scientific experiments that will be launched with the same rocket.
The launch of the Mini-Irene capsule will be at the launch base for scientific research, "Esrange" Kiruna, in northern Sweden, with a rocket carrier equipped with two-stage VSB-30 engine.
Upon reaching the altitude of about 260 kilometers, the capsule will begin the phase of descent with the release of the outer panels of its stowing systems and the deployment of the umbrella shaped heat shield that will allow a safe return to Earth and subsequent recovery.
The particular umbrella shape of Mini-Irene will cause, during the re-entry into the atmosphere, reduced thermal and mechanical loads, allowing the use of CoTS (Commercial off-the Shelf) thermal protection systems, extremely light and economical.
The Mini Irene project, in which CIRA plays the important role of Prime Contractor as well as that of Test Authority, is funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in the frame of GSTP programs of the European Space Agency (ESA).
