Space Rider

Space Reusable Integrated Demonstrator for Europe Return

Mission Profile

Space Rider (Space Reusable Integrated Demonstrator for Europe Return) is ESA's uncrewed reusable re-entry vehicle, designed to provide European industry and researchers with regular, affordable access to and return from low Earth orbit for payloads up to 600 kg. Launched atop a Vega-C rocket, Space Rider would spend up to two months in orbit hosting experiment payloads in its pressurized cabin before reentering and landing on a runway for refurbishment and reuse. The vehicle builds on Italy's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) reentry demonstrator program and represents Europe's first operational reusable spacecraft capability. Space Rider is intended to enable European research communities to conduct in-orbit experiments requiring both microgravity exposure and return of hardware for post-flight analysis.