THE ARD (ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY DEMONSTRATOR) PROGRAM : AN OVERVIEW

Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator is an ESA (European Space Agency) program, led under Aerospatiale Space & Strategic Launchers prime contractorship. This program culminated on October 21st, 1998, by the successful mission of the 2,8-tons capsule, launched on V503 Ariane 5 qualification flight, and realizing the first guided and piloted atmospheric reentry of an European heavy space vehicle. The presentation addresses following aspects : - Program objectives : - Acquire real flight data in real flight reentry environment (200 measurement channels) . Establish a clear demonstration of European capabilities in Atmospheric Reentry mastery