Organization:Italian Aerospace Research Centre
The Italian Aerospace Research Centre (Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali - CIRA) is a consortium established in July 1984 to promote the growth and success of the aerospace industry in Italy (its head-office is in Capua). The majority of CIRA share capital is held by government organizations: the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the National Research Council of Italy (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - CNR).[1]
Spaceplane technology
CIRA is developing spaceplane technology using its facilities for numerical simulation and ground tests, and has flown its first transonic flight test of a "flying test-bed" (FTB) vehicle dropped from a high-altitude balloon.[2] CIRA intends to develop FTB vehicles by 2012 that can perform atmospheric reentry from low Earth orbit, launched using the Vega space launch system.[2][3] This is consistent with the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) plan of the European Space Agency.[4]
Since 2005, CIRA is a partner of the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC).
References
- ↑ "General Information - CIRA". CIRA. http://www.cira.it/html/inglese/azienda/info_cira.asp.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tariq Malik (12 March 2007). "Italian Firm Hails Test of Unmanned Spacecraft Prototype". http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070312_usv_droptest.html.
- ↑ "USV Program". CIRA. http://usv.cira.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=12&lang=english.
- ↑ "European rocket research programs: USV, IXV, FLPP". HobbySpace. 2008-02-24. http://www.hobbyspace.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=5513.
[ ⚑ ] 41°07′16″N 14°10′50″E / 41.12111°N 14.18056°E
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