Reusable Space Rider Shuttle

The European Space Agency (ESA) has presented the concept of its new space vehicle to deliver equipment into orbit. Upon completion of its mission, the capsule will return to Earth ready to be used again.

Space exploration is not advancing as quickly as we would wish. One of the main reasons for that is the high cost of equipment which is also disposable in most cases. Therefore, many space corporations are working to create reusable devices to reduce the costs. Recently, ESA has presented its solution to the issue.

The new vehicle is called Space Rider. As reported by ESA, it is designed to make at least 5 flights. The capsule uses chassis for take-off and landing and has a special compartment for the equipment to be delivered. The rest of it looks exactly like the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle.

The Space Rider has passed a preliminary assessment by the agency and its full-fledged tests will be conducted at the end of this year. The spacecraft’s debut flight is scheduled for 2022.