be achieved via a rocket sled arrangement. It possessed a relatively conventional wing-body configuration, although one atypical feature was the nose of the spacecraft, which possessed a deliberately low camber so that the required size of the elevons for desired trim functionality could be reduced while also resulting in an improved internal structure, such as in the accommodation of the nose gear. Aerodynamically, the HTO Hopper configuration features a rounded delta planform wing at a 60-degree leading edge sweep, which was matched with a central vertical stabilizer and a flat-bottomed underside for the purpose of maximizing the spacecraft's performance during hypersonic flight. The alternative VTO Hopper variant was designed for vertical take-off, being launched conventionally via an expendable launch system. It featured a relatively traditional slender missile-like body but differed in the presence of a small delta wing at a 45-degree leading edge sweep and a central vertical stabilizer arrangement. In terms of its structure, the VTO Hopper possessed a circular cross section complete with a loft fillet on the underside of the craft which functioned to accommodate both the wings and body flap; it also featured a booster which was designed to carry the payload upon the nose of the fuselage. Studies determined that both the HTO and the VTO variant concepts possessed a relatively similar reentry load environment. HTO Hopper - Selection The HTO Hopper was adopted for further development work under another ESA initiative in the form of the FESTIP (Future European Space Transportation Investigations Programme) system design study. During 1998, it was decided the design of Hopper fulfilled all of the established requirements. At this point, the spacecraft was to be composed of a single-stage reusable vehicle which would not attain orbital velocity itself. Hopper reportedly held the promise of delivering lower cost orbital deployment of payloads. An EADS spokesperson stated that a reusable launch vehicle like Hopper could halve the cost of sending a satellite into orbit, which reportedly had been determined to be around per kilogram of payload in 2004. The envisioned mission profile of Hopper would have involved several phases. The launch phase was to be achieved by using a 4 km magnetic horizontal track, which was to be purpose-built at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, that would accelerate the spacecraft up to launch speed. Upon reaching an altitude of 130 km, the vehicle would fire an expendable rocket-powered upper stage