The preparation of new Planetary exploration missions needs an adequate planning of the critical Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) sequences. The planetary entry phase occurs at hypersonic velocities, and the aerodynamic configurations, and the thermal protections of a spacecraft have to be properly tailored. In support of the upcoming European planetary exploration missions, the European Space Agency is funding the development of a new shock-tube facility at the Instituto Superior Tecnico of Lisbonne. The characteristics of this new large facility will be described in this work. Key words: atmospheric entry, entry plasmas, shock-tube
