Airbus tests SpacePlane demonstrator
Airbus is closer to taking space tourists on suborbital flights following tests of a demonstrator aircraft in the South China Sea.
According to Airbus Defence and Space, tests of the SpacePlane demonstrator validated the dynamic flight conditions encountered in the end-of-flight phase following a return from space.
The tests, conducted between 1-4 May and supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, took place 100km off the coast of Singapore and involved a fleet of seven ships.
The quarter-scale demonstrator used in the tests was built in partnership with HOPE Technik and Airbus Group Innovations, the corporate network of research centres of Airbus Group.
After being winched from the barge by an AS350 B3e Ecureuil helicopter operated by Airbus Helicopters Southeast Asia, the SpacePlane demonstrator was released at a height of around 3,000m.
It was then piloted from the barge as it made its return to the ground, ending its flight at sea before being picked up a few hours later.
Conceived in 2006, the business jet-sized spaceplane will carry four passengers up to an altitude of 100km into space, or help to fulfil a range of scientific or operational suborbital missions.
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