On October 6, 2026, a full-scale Space Rider test model crashed at a military range in Sardinia, Italy, after its drogue parachute deployed and slowed it but its steerable parafoil detached during deployment. At an ESA briefing on October 22, European Space Agency Director of Space Transportation Géraldine Naja said investigators had not identified why the parafoil detached. The lost article was a test model, not an operational spacecraft. NeoTeo previously covered the loss of the Space Rider test model.
The test was meant to validate the complete landing sequence
A helicopter released the model from approximately 3 kilometers. A drogue parachute, the initial chute in the sequence, deployed and slowed it. The parafoil, a steerable parachute designed to guide Space Rider toward a controlled landing, detached as it deployed, and the model hit the ground. ESA teams recovered its components or remnants.
Earlier campaigns had demonstrated individual elements, including parafoil deployment, autonomous guidance, and the transition from the drogue parachute to the parafoil. The October test was designed to assess the complete descent-and-landing sequence using a full-scale model that represented the spacecraft’s mass, shape, and inertia.
ESA’s briefing addressed the investigation and schedule
At the October 22 briefing, the investigation board had not identified the cause of the detachment. Naja said the remaining qualification activities were not on Space Rider’s development critical path.
European Spaceflight reported that ESA planned to review the schedule after the investigation and that the inaugural flight aboard a Vega C was targeted for the first half of 2028.
