Nyx Bikini (Bikini Demo)

Nyx Bikini [Arianespace]

Nyx Bikini or Bikini Demo is a technology demonstrator capsule developed by The Exploration Company to gather data on atmospheric reentry and validate associated mathematical models. The capsule has a diameter of 60 cm and a mass of 40 kg.

Nyx Bikini was a payload flown as part of the inaugural flight of the Ariane 6 rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The capsule was designed to detach from the rocket's upper stage and perform a ballistic reentry, enduring temperatures up to 2100°C.

The uncontrolled capsule features three fixed flaps to ensure proper orientation during reentry, eliminating the need for complex thruster systems. Its avionics, sourced from the drone industry, and communication systems, including a standard satellite phone, were selected to reduce costs and development time.

It was launched on 9 July 2024 on the maiden flight of the Ariane-62 launch vehicle. It was to be put into a reentry trajectory by stage 2 of the Ariane-62. The mission failed when stage 2 failed to reignite for reentry, so the payload remained attached to the orbiting stage.