 | This article needs to be updated. (November 2020) |
| Country | ESA |
|---|---|
| Contract award | EADS, German Aerospace Center |
| Status | Canceled |
Hopper was a proposed European Space Agency (ESA) orbital spaceplane and reusable launch vehicle. The Hopper was a FESTIP (Future European Space Transportation Investigations Programme) system study design.[1]
Hopper was one of several proposals for a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) developed by the ESA. The proposed reusable launch vehicles were to be used for the inexpensive delivery of satellite payloads into orbit as early as 2015.[2] A prototype of Hopper, known as (EADS) Phoenix, was a German-led European project which involved the construction and testing of a one-seventh scale model of the proposed Hopper. On 8 May 2004, a single test flight of the Phoenix was conducted at the North European Aerospace Test range in Kiruna, Sweden, which was followed by more tests later that month.[3]
- ^ Dujarric, C. (February 1999). "Possible Future European Launchers - A Process of Convergence" (PDF). ESA Bulletin (97). European Space Agency: 11–19. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2023.
- ^ Mckee, Maggie (10 May 2004). "Europe's space shuttle passes early test". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Launching the next generation of rockets". BBC News. 1 October 2004. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023.