Origins of the VSH Project
Origins of the VSH project
Enter in the Challenge to study the European manned suborbital rocket-plane ...
The exceptional feats of the SpaceShipOne in 2004 (first private spaceplane to reach the edge of space) have created an extraordinary context in a sector of the industry which until now had been trusted by the historical actors of the space conquest: national agencies and huge industrial conglomerates.
Inspired by this unprecedented success, several spaceflight projects have been started with the ambition to achieve similar results using original concepts. The overwhelming majority of this effort is located in the United States, benefiting from a wide diffusion of aerospace engineering skills. However similar characteristics exist in Europe, giving it the capacity to join this evolution.
The Astronaute Club Européen (ACE) was thus created by astronaut Jean-Pierre Haigneré to take up the challenge to build a manned suborbital spaceplane and let as many as possible live the exceptional experience of spaceflight in a European vehicle. This project is based on an air-launched reusable suborbital spacecraft and uses the experience gained from years of study in the industry.
Become Ambassadors for the Challenge
