MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia successfully conducted Friday a test launch of a sea-based modified ballistic missile with a Demonstrator spacecraft on board, a Defense Ministry official said.
The official said the Volna carrier rocket had been launched at 1:30 a.m. Moscow time (9:30 p. m. GMT, Thursday) from the Borisoglebsk, a Delta III-class nuclear submarine, in the Barents Sea.
It is the fourth attempt to orbit the Demonstrator using the Volna carrier-rocket, as the three previous attempts ended in failure.
The Demonstrator spacecraft was developed under a European Space Agency contract and is designed to return payloads from orbit without a heavy heat shield and parachute system through the use of an Inflatable Re-Entry and Descent Technology (IRDT) system. An inflatable cone provides protection during re-entry and a second inflatable extension of the cone reduces the speed to ensure a safe landing.
The space vehicle could also be used in the future to land on other planets and to bring astronauts back to Earth in emergencies.
