The hypersonic flight experiment ReFEx (Reusability Flight Experiment) under development at the German
Aerospace Center (DLR) passed the preliminary design review in 2019 and several subsystem CDRs are to be
completed this year.
The paper summarizes the latest status of major characteristics of ReFEx, the planned reentry corridor, flight and range safety considerations and assessments on the vehicle’s controllability. Examples of the numerical and
experimental aerodynamic configuration analyses are shown.
The second part of the paper investigates potential next demonstration steps for winged RLV. Intermediate steps on
larger and more powerful launch systems are evaluated with the aim of having a liquid-rocket powered demonstrator stage with multiple-flight reusability ready before the end of this decade. A preliminary version of the technology development roadmap will be presented
