Space Rider

Following the success of the IXV mission, the Space-Rider program aims to provide Europe, for the first time, with a low-cost, reusable space transportation system capable not only of performing operations and experiments in orbit, but also of returning to Earth, thereby enabling payload recovery and vehicle reuse for subsequent missions.

Space Rider will be launched into low Earth orbit by the VEGA-C launcher, at an altitude of approximately 450 km and across a wide range of inclinations. It will remain in orbit for more than two months before re-entering the atmosphere and landing on Santa Maria Island in the Azores.

The reference mission for the spacecraft design includes close-proximity operations with the International Space Station (ISS) and the capture of scientific payloads released by the ISS to be returned to Earth. In addition, Space Rider—whose key feature is mission management flexibility—will be capable of autonomous microgravity experimentation, in-orbit technology demonstration, Earth observation and monitoring, and demonstrations of satellite servicing operations.

Atmospheric re-entry, at a velocity of approximately 7.5 km/s, will be ensured by a thermal protection system based on ceramic and ablative materials, as well as a guidance and control system using aerodynamic control surfaces and small thrusters. After the high-temperature phase of atmospheric re-entry, the vehicle will enter the final descent phase with the assistance of an autonomously guided parafoil, allowing it to land safely on a runway or in an open field.

The implementation of the program has been entrusted by ESA to CIRA and Thales Alenia Space Italy. The two industrial prime contractors, in turn, manage a consortium of more than twenty European companies operating in the space sector.