By Stephanie Dwilson | 2026-07-06

The European Space Agency's first reusable orbital vehicle, called Space Rider, is steadily advancing through key engineering milestones as it prepares to resume full mission simulation drop tests later this year.

Space Rider is in the late testing and development phase. Once it is cleared for launch, the vehicle is expected to provide Europe with independent, reusable access to space for the first time, reducing its reliance on foreign partners.

Designed for short-duration missions in low Earth orbit (LEO), the uncrewed robotic laboratory will be used for satellite inspections, Earth observation, microgravity tests and a variety of experiments and technology demonstrations.

These will support research in pharmaceutics, biomedicine, biology and physical science, according to the agency.

Space Rider has been through a battery of tests already, passing key milestones:

• Thermal panels were tested up to 1600 degrees Celsius, replicating the heat levels the vehicle will encounter when it re-enters Earth's atmosphere. These were conducted within a plasma wind tunnel.
• Reusable ceramic tiles on the vehicle's belly and nose were subjected to severe vibrations simulating those from a powerful rocket launcher.
• Re-entry conditions were tested with a damaged tile, simulating a scenario in which the vehicle is hit with a micro-meteorite in orbit.
• A series of low-fidelity drop tests qualified its descent parachutes and parafoil-control software.

Drop tests are the final step needed to validate the vehicle's descent and landing systems, but further tests are still required before a launch can take place.

These include final impact and landing tests, full-spacecraft thermal vacuum and acoustic and vibration testing, launch vehicle integration tests, and pre-launch payload integration at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

Helicopter drop tests

Later this year, the ESA will begin a new series of helicopter drops over Sardinia to test the vehicle’s descent capabilities after orbital reentry.

A full-scale mock-up will be used to simulate Space Rider’s size, mass, shape and landing gear.

The tests, led by Thales Alenia Space Italy and Avio, will involve releasing the Space Rider model from helicopters at up to 9,800 feet above the Salto di Quirra test range.

The full-size test model was built in Romania's National Institute for Aerospace Research "Elie Carafoil" (INCAS). After completion, it was shipped to the Italian Aerospace Research Center (CIRA) in Capua, Italy.

This full-scale drop test was originally slated for earlier this year. But after an anomaly was detected in the ascent phase, the test was postponed, with the ESA now targeting an October date, per a mid-June announcement.

Pioneering landing system

Space Rider’s first orbital flight is currently projected for early 2028, when the vehicle will launch aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport.

The uncrewed laboratory will stay in low Earth orbit for approximately two months, conducting experiments and technology demonstrations.

After its flight, it will land at a new space hub in the Azores, using a brand new touchdown method different from typical drifting parachutes or splashdowns.

Instead, it will use its lifting-body design (without wings) to land under a steerable parafoil -- a type of soft-winged glider -- in a runway-style descent.

The parafoil will be autonomously controlled by the vehicle’s on-board avionics system.

"Space Rider will enable Europe to return payloads from LEO competitively, with first launch planned for 2028," ESA director general Josef Aschbacher said in late 2025.

The vehicle also will advance Europe’s spaceflight capabilities, positioning it as a more valuable ally in international missions.