Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator
Encyclopedia
The Advanced Reentry Demonstrator (ARD) was a suborbital reentry test flown on the third Ariane 5
flight. The ARD was launched on October 21, 1998, and was released shortly after separation of the launcher's cryogenic main stage (at an altitude of about 216 km) 12 minutes after lift-off from the Guiana Space Centre
, Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The ARD reached an altitude of 830 km and, after a guided entry, splashed down to within 4.9 km of its target point in the Pacific Ocean between the Marquesas Islands
and Hawaii
after one hour and 41 minutes of flight. It was recovered some five hours later and has undergone more detailed technical analysis in Europe. Engineers analysing data from its sub-orbital flight reported that all the capsule's systems had performed well and according to expectations. Engineers analysing real-time telemetry from the flight have reported that all electrical equipment and propulsion systems functioned nominally. Telemetry systems and reception stations all performed well, and the onboard GPS receiver worked satisfactorily during the entire flight except, as expected, during black-out in reentry.
During reentry the heat shield
temperature reached 900°C and the cone and heatshield thermal protection was in a perfect state after retrieval. Throughout the flight ARD remained airtight and perfectly intact.
Built by Aérospatiale
(France) for the European Space Agency
, the ARD has a classical Apollo
capsule design and was packed with the most advanced technologies to test and qualify new technologies and flight control capabilities for atmospheric reentry and landing. During the mission it recorded and transmitted to the ground more than 200 critical parameters for analysis of the flight and behaviour of onboard equipment.
The ARD is exhibited at the European Space Research and Technology Centre
in Noordwijk
, Netherlands
.
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
flight. The ARD was launched on October 21, 1998, and was released shortly after separation of the launcher's cryogenic main stage (at an altitude of about 216 km) 12 minutes after lift-off from the Guiana Space Centre
Centre Spatial Guyanais
The Guiana Space Centre or, more commonly, Centre Spatial Guyanais is a French spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana. Operational since 1968, it is particularly suitable as a location for a spaceport due to its proximity to the equator, and that launches are in a favourable direction over water...
, Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The ARD reached an altitude of 830 km and, after a guided entry, splashed down to within 4.9 km of its target point in the Pacific Ocean between the Marquesas Islands
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
after one hour and 41 minutes of flight. It was recovered some five hours later and has undergone more detailed technical analysis in Europe. Engineers analysing data from its sub-orbital flight reported that all the capsule's systems had performed well and according to expectations. Engineers analysing real-time telemetry from the flight have reported that all electrical equipment and propulsion systems functioned nominally. Telemetry systems and reception stations all performed well, and the onboard GPS receiver worked satisfactorily during the entire flight except, as expected, during black-out in reentry.
During reentry the heat shield
Heat shield
A heat shield is designed to shield a substance from absorbing excessive heat from an outside source by either dissipating, reflecting or simply absorbing the heat...
temperature reached 900°C and the cone and heatshield thermal protection was in a perfect state after retrieval. Throughout the flight ARD remained airtight and perfectly intact.
Built by Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale was a French aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale...
(France) for the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
, the ARD has a classical Apollo
Apollo spacecraft
The Apollo spacecraft was composed of five combined parts designed to accomplish the American Apollo program's goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by the end of the 1960s and returning them safely to Earth...
capsule design and was packed with the most advanced technologies to test and qualify new technologies and flight control capabilities for atmospheric reentry and landing. During the mission it recorded and transmitted to the ground more than 200 critical parameters for analysis of the flight and behaviour of onboard equipment.
The ARD is exhibited at the European Space Research and Technology Centre
European Space Research and Technology Centre
The European Space Research and Technology Centre is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands....
in Noordwijk
Noordwijk
Noordwijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006....
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.