UntitledSTOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- A German-designed unmanned space shuttle prototype will be launched in Sweden's far north on Friday after an initial test flight was done the day before, a project spokeswoman said.
The test flight, in which the reusable prototype was carried aloft by a helicopter for a systems check, was supposed to have been done Wednesday, but was delayed by bad weather, said Johanna Bergstroem-Roos, of the North European Aerospace Test Range in Kiruna, 1,230 kilometers (770 miles) north of the capital, Stockholm.
The EADS Phoenix, a prototype of the future European Shuttle, will be carried to an altitude of 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) by a heavy-duty helicopter and then dropped so it can glide to earth for a landing.
The Phoenix, along with the Ariane 5, represents Europe's hope for sending astronauts into space in the coming years.
The ship is just under seven meters (23 feet) long, weighs 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) and has a wingspan of 3.9 meters (13 feet). It's one-sixth the size of the actual planned vehicle.
The test range has been the site of European Space Agency tests because of its remote location and its vast uninhabited areas.
The area has two restricted air spaces, Esrange and Vidsel, each measuring approximately 5,000 square kilometers (6,000 square yards), available for the tests.
When combined with a temporary air corridor, test vehicles can fly as far as 350 kilometers (217 miles) over land.
EADS, or the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., is the largest aerospace company in Europe and the second largest worldwide.
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