ESA's Space Rider Test Model Lost After Parafoil Failure

AI-generated NewsSnap summary based on source reporting.
Published: 2026-10-20
Category: science
Source: European Spaceflight

A full-scale test model of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Space Rider spaceplane was lost during its final system-level drop-test campaign after its parafoil failed to deploy as expected. This incident marks the second anomaly for Space Rider's drop tests this year, prompting an independent investigation to determine the root cause of the failure.

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