Stockholm, June 09: Sweden is set to test a $500 million prototype reusable space vehicle on Monday in a development which it is hoped will pave the way for future unmanned transportation systems in space.
Weather permitting, the high-speed flight demonstration will see the 10-foot, one-to-four scale vehicle lifted by a stratospheric balloon to a height of 19 miles.


The Japanese-built Hope-X, which weighs about 1,100 lbs, will then be released from the balloon and accelerate in free fall up to supersonic speeds to acquire needed aerodynamic data.

The project was being conducted by Japan’s National Space Development Agency, the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan and France’s Center National d’Etudes Spaciales, a spokeswoman for the government-run Swedish Space Corporation said. The craft was built by Fuji Heavy Industries.

“The Japanese are calling it the next generation space shuttle because it is a new concept for an unmanned winged re-entry vehicle,” said launch project leader Mikael Viertotak. Bureau Report