EADS Prototype Space Shuttle "Landed Perfectly"

It was a big step forward for the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company's (EADS) attempt to develop a reusable space vehicle: The Phoenix has landed.

"Everyone here is ecstatic," said Johanna Bergstroem-Roos, at the North European Aerospace Test Range, 770 miles north of Stockholm. "This gives us wind in our sails."

The Phoenix was hauled almost 8,000 feet into the air by a heavy-lifting helicopter, then dropped Saturday. Using GPS navigation, the unmanned test vehicle made what EADS called a "perfect landing" a minute-and-a-half later at a test facility runway north of Stockholm.

EADS hopes to mount its own version of a shuttle on top of an Ariane 5 booster, giving Europe its very own ability to go to space by the year 2020. Right now, ESA astronauts must fly aboard US or Russian missions if they hope to leave Earth's atmosphere.

There's a long way to go, however, before those astronauts are ready to launch. The EADS Phoenix is a 1/6th-scale prototype. It's 23 feet long, has a wingspan of 13-feet and weighs 2,640 pounds. The finished product will re-enter Earth's atmosphere 80 miles up, then have to land safely.

To get from here to there, EADS will continue testing prototypes of the Phoenix. Future projects will probably involve dropping the scale-prototype from a high-altitude balloon.

FMI: www.eads.com