The structural model campaign of the Reusability Flight Experiment at the DLR Institutes of Space Systems in Bremen is in full swing. A complete structural model has been finished and preliminarily tested for the first time beginning of November and is now in final preparations for its Shaker Test Campaign at the End of the Month.
This is a significant milestone for the ReFEx, which has been in development since 2018 at DLR with the participation of nine different DLR Institutes throughout Germany.
The Reusability Flight Experiment (ReFEx) is being developed by DLR to provide flight and design data on, as well as operational experience with, aerodynamically controlled stages for a Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLVs). ReFEx will be a small-scale technology demonstrator and is scheduled for launch in 2024 in Koonibba Test Range (KTR) in Southern Australia. The KTR is operated by Southern Launch and the Koonibba Aboriginal Community who work in partnership to facilitate suborbital launches and returns from space at the facility.
More information:
https://www.dlr.de/irs/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-15435/#gallery/34117
https://www.southernlaunch.space/
The DLR-RY ReFEx team with an artwork from a well renowned Koonibba born artist which was presented to the team during a visit to Koonibba, South Australia in early 2022.