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Ares
Class: Spaceplane. Destination: Suborbital. Nation: France. Agency: ESA. Manufacturer: Cannes.

Ares was a small 7-meter long delta wing spaceplane, proposed by Aerospatiale, weighing 2,000 kg. One version of Ares would perform subsonic landing tests; it would be carried by an aircraft or balloon and then be released at a high altitude. A second version would be launched into orbit on a Soyuz-class expendable launch vehicle and then perform a hypersonic reentry and landing. The Ares design was merged with the Dassault Vehra to produce a single French proposal for the EXTV technology demonstrator of the ESA Future Launcher Technology Program.

Maximum Diameter: 7.00 m (22.90 ft). Span: 3.50 m (11.40 ft). Mass: 2,000 kg (4,400 lb).


Bibliography:

  • Borman, Frank and Serling, Robert J., Countdown : An Autobiography, William Morrow, 1988.


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