European Space Agency (THIS) initiated an independent investigation into the abnormal termination of key system tests of the unmanned Space Rider spacecraft. During the controlled reset of the full-scale model of the device, a technical failure in the operation of the landing complex was recorded. As a result of the incident, the test prototype suffered a hard collision with the surface.
According to the official representatives of the department, початкова фаза тестування пройшла успішно — допоміжний гальмівний парашут розкрився у штатному режимі та стабілізував траєкторію. However, at the stage of putting into operation the main controlled wing parachute (parafoil) an anomaly has occurred, which led to its complete disconnection from the body. Due to the loss of the main dome, the drone was unable to slow down its autonomous descent rate. A specially created commission is currently establishing the root causes of the failure of the mechanism.
The Space Rider project is being developed as the first European reusable orbital ship, designed to deliver scientific cargo into orbit for up to two months. The main technological feature of the device is a wingless design of the "carrying body" type (lifting-body), which relies on a maneuverable parafoil to perform a precision landing on the runway. This method is designed to replace the current less accurate capsule landing systems, which is critical for ship reuse.
Despite the crash at this critical stage of the demonstration, ESA management notes, that the incident should not disrupt the overall program implementation schedule, other parallel qualification tests of spacecraft elements are currently underway as planned. The current investigation and refinement of the parachute system is integrated into the overall development process and does not hold back the preparation of the ship for the future launch.
Source: https://www.space.com