Posted: Fri, Oct 7, 2005, 11:59 AM ET (1559 GMT)
A Volna rocket launched a reentry demonstrator vehicle on a successful suborbital flight, Russian officials said Friday. The Volna launched from a submarine in the Barents Sea at 5:30 pm EDT Thursday (2130 GMT Thursday, 1:30 am Moscow time Friday), carrying the Inflatable Reentry and Descent Technology (IRDT) demonstrator. The IRDT vehicle landed in the Kamchatka Peninsula 35 minutes later. The IRDT, developed by Russian and European companies, is designed to demonstrate the utility of an inflatable cone-shaped reentry shield, which could reduce the cost and weight of reentry capsules. There has been three previous attempts to test the IRDT failed, two because of launch problems and one when the vehicle was not found after landing.

Related Links:

•  Itar-Tass article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  AP article