European Re-entry Capsule Grounded After Russia Withdraws Launch Offer

摘要

A European atmospheric-reentry capsule that was 10 years in development and whose construction has been completed for months may never get off the ground following cancellation of a low-cost launch aboard a converted Russian missile, the capsule's builders said June 6. The European Space Agency (ESA), with a large contribution from the Italian Space Agency (ASI), spent an estimated 50 million euros ($65 million) developing the European Experimental Reentry Test Bed, called Expert, starting in 2002.