Page 71 - Italy In Space
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Space Vehicles: ARD (Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator)
July 14, 1996.
First qualification test of the descent and recovery system to understand and master phenomena
involved in returning spacecraft to Earth. Commemorative postcard cancelled at the post-office of
Trapani, Italy, where the mockup was recovered after its splashdown.
October 21, 1998. ARD is launched on top of an Ariane 5 rocket. Released at an altitude of 209 km,
starts a ballistic trajectory with an apogee of 830 km followed by an atmospheric reentry and
splashdown within 4.9 km of its target point in the Pacific Ocean, south-east of Hawaii and north-east
of the French Marquesa Islands. Commemorative launch cover postmarked at Kourou on the launch.
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