Mario DE STEFANO FUMO, Giuseppe RUFOLO, Roberto GARDI, Roberto FAUCI, Angelo DE FENZA, Francesca PISANO, Giuseppe Maria INFANTE, Lorenzo CAVALLI, Massimiliano VALLE
DOI Number: 10.60853/e31z-qx43
Conference number: HiSST-2024-00348
Space Rider is an unmanned space robotic laboratory. After launch it will stay in orbit for about two months and then it will return to Earth with its payloads and land on ground. It can be recovered, reconfigured and reused for up to six missions. Such kind of spacecraft, designed to safely came back to Earth, are characterized by Thermal Protection System (TPS) necessary to protect the vehicle from the typical harsh environment encountered during atmospheric re-entry phase, keeping unchanged the vehicle outer mold line. Further, when precise landing is required, hot control surfaces allowing maneuvers are mandatory. The present paper summarizes the status of the testing activities for the sub-system qualification.