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Re-entry Studies  >>  ARD Postflight Analysis

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The Atmospheric Re-entry Demonstrator (ARD) was launched by the third flight of Ariane 5 in 1998. CFS Engineering participated in the aero-thermodynamic studies for the analysis of the flight results. Particular attention was focused on the analysis of differences in pre-flight prediction and actual flight data.

This study was financed by the European Space Agency (ESA), and was managed by Aerospatiale-Matra Launchers.

The figure to the left shows the Mach number contours in the symmetry plane of the vehicle for conditions at an altitude of 45 km. The vehicle is flying with an angle of attack of 20 degrees.

The project was successfully completed in January 2001, but led to additional projects financed by ESA. For more the history and on-going interest in ARD, please see ESA-Bulletin 109.