Reusable 'space hopper' gets closer to a reality

Drawing of the Space Hopper prototype

(CNN) -- The prototype of a reusable vehicle that could slash the cost of satellite launches will take to the air in a series of tests, European designers announced this month.

Preparations will begin in August for the experimental flights of the small-scale demonstration model, dubbed Phoenix, the Swedish Space Corp. (SSC) said.

A helicopter will carry and drop the 2.5-ton vehicle from an altitude of about 1.5 miles (2.5 km). The unmanned craft will then coast and land on a runway in Vidsel, Sweden.

The test flights should take place in March and April 2004, the SSC said.

The German-built craft is a prototype for the "Space Hopper" program at the European Space Agency, which would like to put an unmanned reusable launch vehicle into use by the year 2015.

A Space Hopper would take off horizontally from a ski sled, release its payload and a booster above the atmosphere during a suborbital flight and glide down for a landing like a conventional airplane.

In the meantime, the booster would push the satellite into its intended orbit, according to Astrium, the Bremen, Germany-based company building the Phoenix.

The European Space Agency hopes to slash the cost of satellite launches, which can easily exceed $100 million and use disposable French Ariane rockets.

In the United States, the Bush administration has scrapped similar NASA programs, citing development difficulties and budget constraints.