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To make sure Space Rider can handle the heat, literally, ESA put its thermal protection system through extreme tests, blasting ceramic parts with 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit plasma and even damaging them on purpose to check their toughness.
Up next: a drop-test model will try runway-style landings in Sardinia later this year, which ESA says is a big step toward proving Europe's first reusable spacecraft is both sturdy and precise.