"We are very satisfied. Testing was successful and we have gained all the results required," said Peter Kyr, Phoenix Project Manager, in Bremen after testing had been completed.

With Phoenix, EADS SPACE Transportation wants to prove the feasibility of a re-usable space transport system. The prototype is just under seven metres long, has a weight of 1,200 kilograms and a wingspan of 3.9 metres.

Testing in Lemwerder began last Monday (1 March 2004) and was performed in several steps. After reliability of the connection between towing vehicle and Phoenix was confirmed, taxi tests at speeds between 30 and 150 kilometres per hour at a maximum were carried out.

In doing so, Phoenix was released at a distance of up to five metres from the centreline to see whether the system was able to automatically return to the centreline by applying the necessary track corrections using the nose wheel. Onboard navigation computers calculated the track on the basis of position data provided by the GPS satellite system.

The tests were also used to demonstrate the straight-run capability of Phoenix and to calibrate brake pressure. Under real conditions, the vehicle will touch down at a speed of 255 kilometres per hour.

After landing, Phoenix will reduce speed by first applying the wing flaps and then the disk brakes of the main landing gear to retard to full stop. Thus, brake effect optimisation was one of the goals of the test campaign in Lemwerder.

Acceleration of the prototype to about 150 kilometres per hour was the highlight of the taxi tests, which were performed by Rheinmetall Defence Electronics.

This speed comes as close to real landing conditions as is possible in a ground test. In this case, too, Phoenix was able to precisely correct track deviations so that the distance from the centreline was just a few centimetres.

The next step will be the flight testing of Phoenix in Vidsel in Northern Sweden in May 2004. A heavy-duty helicopter will carry Phoenix to an altitude of 2,400 metres. Then, the vehicle will be released to perform an automatic landing.

EADS SPACE Transportation will invest about 8.2 million euros in the development of Phoenix. In addition to the medium-sized company OHB System AG, Deutsches Zentrum f¿r Luft- und Raumfahrt and the state of Land Bremen are financially involved with an amount of 7.9 million euros.

EADS SPACE Transportation is the European space transportation and orbital infrastructures specialist. It designs, develops and produces Ariane launchers, the Columbus laboratory and the ATV cargo vessel for the International Space Station, atmospheric re-entry vehicles, missiles systems for France's deterrent force, propulsion systems and space equipment.

EADS SPACE Transportation is a fully owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE dedicated to civil and defence space systems. In 2002, EADS SPACE had a turnover of ¿2.2 billion and 12.300 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2002, EADS generated revenues of ¿ 29.9 billion and employed a workforce of more than 100,000.

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