Hermes (spaceplane)

Hermes was a proposed European crewed spaceplane, designed first by the French space agency CNES from 1975 and later under the European Space Agency, and never built. It was to carry up to three astronauts and a 3,000 kg pressurised payload into low Earth orbit, launched as the upper stage of an Ariane 5, with a highly swept delta wing like the American X-20 Dyna-Soar. On 18 October 1985 CNES appointed Aérospatiale prime contractor, with Dassault-Breguet responsible for aerodynamics, and France held half the work share. After the Challenger accident the six-seat design was cut to three ejection seats. ESA approved pre-development in November 1987, but cost, delays and a partnership with Russia that removed the need for a separate European crew vehicle led to cancellation in 1992. A full-scale mockup was built in 1986.