ARD

FR

Spacecraft nº:

France spacecraft nº: 43

ARD= Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator

Launch data:

Designation	98059
Launch date	21 Oct 1998 - 16:37 UT
Launch site	Ko, ELA-3
Launch vehicle	Ariane-5G (V112)
Mission	Technology
Suborbital flight:
Max height	830 km

Spacecraft data:

Prime contractor	Aérospatiale (France)
Platform
Operator	ESA
Mass at launch	kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension (m)
Equipment
Solar array
Stabilization
Propulsion
DC power

End of live:

Recuperation date:	21 Oct 1998
Lifetime:	1h 41 min

Description:

The ARD was an 80 percent scale model of the Apollo Command Module, and a technology test for a possible International Space Station Crew Rescue Vehicle. Equipment included a TDRS satellite communications system; a GPS navigation system; 7 DASA 40 kgf hydrazine attitude control thrusters; a 2.8 m diameter heat shield; three 23 metre diameter parachutes, and a SARSAT recovery beacon. The ARD separated from the Ariane EPS upper stage at 12 minutes 2 seconds after launch. ARD and the EPC stage manoeuvred into a 1 km x 830 km orbit, guaranteeing re-entry at the end of the first orbit. The spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific at 3.69 degrees N, 153.35 degrees W, and was successfully recovered by the French Navy.

Mission details:

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 900ºC 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.
External links:
- Stratocat.com: ARD (Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator)
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ARD

FR

Spacecraft nº:

France spacecraft nº: 43

Launch data:

Spacecraft data:

End of live:

Description:

Mission details:

External links: