spacetoday.net: Canadian Arrow drop tests spacecraft

Posted: Mon, Aug 16, 2004, 10:21 AM ET (1421 GMT)
Canadian Arrow illustration (Canadian Arrow)

A Canadian entrant in the Ansari X Prize competition successfully drop-tested its passenger capsule in the waters off Toronto on Saturday. Canadian Arrow dropped the 770-kilogram crew cabin of its eponymous suborbital vehicle from a helicopter 2,400 meters above Lake Ontario, just south of Toronto, on Saturday morning. The capsule descended under parachutes, splashing down about six minutes after release. Team officials said that it appeared the capsule survived the splashdown without any issues, although they still have to test whether they can dry and pack the parachutes in under two weeks. Geoff Sheerin, the head of the project, told SPACE.com that the team needed about $2 million more to complete the vehicle. A series of test flights is planned to begin later this year, most likely from a barge in the Great Lakes. Those tests will start with a low-powered launch-pad abort firing and eventually lead to a full-scale suborbital flight. The project plans to continue their efforts even though two other teams, including Canadian rival The da Vinci Project, have already announced launch dates for their prize flights in late September and early October.