Euro shuttle back to earth

AN UNMANNED prototype of a European space shuttle glided safely back to Earth over the weekend after being dropped from nearly 8,000ft up by a helicopter.

Guided by Global Positioning System satellites, the German-designed EADS Phoenix was dropped by a heavy-duty helicopter over Sweden and “landed perfectly” 90 seconds later on a test runway north of Stockholm, a project spokeswoman said.

“Everyone here is ecstatic,” said Johanna Bergstroem- Roos, of the North European Aerospace Test Range in Kiruna, 770 miles north of Stockholm.