As space agencies seek to expand their presence in space, the value of reusable vehicles continues to grow. SpaceX has had great success with its Dragon and Falcon 9 combos, for example. The European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to go ahead with his Space Rider project, a reusable and unprepared orbital vehicle that will mate with the Ariane and Vega rocket families.
Space Rider, which means "reusable integrated demonstrator for the return to Europe", could be operational by 2022. The first missions will probably use the Vega-C rocket, which will take off from ESA facilities in Kourou, French Guiana. The engineers hope to design a vehicle that will remain in orbit for up to two months at a maximum altitude of 450 km to allow for scientific research.
Space Rider will be able to transport 1,760 pounds (800 kilograms) of cargo in its 42 cubic foot (1,200 liter) cargo hold. That's about two and a half times the load volume of an average SUV. The spacecraft will have a power of 600 watts for its thermal capabilities, control and processing of embedded data. The loading bay will also be air conditioned.
At the end of a mission, Space Rider will return to the atmosphere using ablative ceramic materials to disperse heat. The ship will use a parafoil to descend and land smoothly near inhabited areas (see video below). This should make it even faster and easier to refurbish the equipment. The ESA does not mention the use of Space Rider for crewed missions.
The Space Rider borrows both the AVUM + scene from Vega-C and the experimental intermediate vehicle (IXV). The latter conducted a test mission in 2015, paving the way for the development of a more useful vehicle. Using the IXV as a starting point, the ESA has added a larger multi-purpose cargo hold, a landing gear and a more robust design. The designers say the spacecraft should be capable of at least five launches and landings with minimal renovation between the two.
ESA will use the Space Rider for its own purposes, but also plans to sell space to businesses. Reusable nature and fast development schedule should keep costs down. ESA has not yet started building the Space Rider module, but it expects that a critical review of the design will be completed by the end of 2019.