A mock-up of ESA’s habitation module on the upcoming lunar Gateway space station is now ready for testing at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, marking a step forward in bringing humans back to the Moon.

Video: 00:02:04

A reaction wheel – one of the heaviest parts of a space mission, its changing rotation used to shift a satellite’s orientation – seen in a plasma wind tunnel belonging to the High Enthalpy Flow Diagnostics Group (HEFDiG) at the University of Stuttgart Institute of Space Systems (IRS). Arc-heated gas in the test chamber reaches speeds of several kilometres per second, reproducing reentry conditions, while the reaction wheel itself is being rotated, reproducing the tumbling that takes place as a satellite plunges through the atmosphere.

The reaction wheel itself comes from Collins Aerospace in Germany, which has supported Design for Demise (D4D) activities

Image: Blowtorch effect of satellite reentry

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