The European Space Agency (ESA) is gearing up for an Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle test flight on Wednesday, Feb. 11, launching the space plane using a Vega rocket from the French Guiana Spaceport.
The unmanned IXV will be lifting off in the morning, blasting off into space before dropping back down for a splash in the Pacific Ocean. It will separate from the rocket when it reaches 200 miles in altitude before flying up a further 280 miles. After reaching the prescribed altitude, the space plane will head down for re-entry into Earth.
After decelerating from hypersonic to supersonic speeds, the IXV will release its multistage parachute to aid in slowing down its descent further. After hitting the Pacific Ocean, flotation balloons will be keeping it above water, making it easily recoverable by ship. Once recovered, the IXV will undergo further analysis.
The entire test flight is expected to last no more than 100 minutes. During its time in space, the IXV will be recording data about the flight with help from its numerous sensors.
About the size of a car, the IXV reportedly cost about $169 million to design and develop. This test flight is aimed at testing out systems and technologies that will provide independent re-entry capabilities to Europe, one of the foundations of reusable space transport systems. It will also validate lifting-bodies designs, which combined the simplicity of a capsule with the performance of a winged vehicle and incorporated high control and maneuverability for precise landing.
After the IXV mission, the ESA hopes to follow up with another unmanned project. Known as PRIDE (Program for Reusable In-Orbit Demonstrator for Europe), the space plane will be designed to deploy satellites during orbit before it returns to Earth. Unlike the IXV, however, PRIDE will be making a runway landing.
Another ESA project in the works is the re-entry of a cargo vehicle from the International Space Station, which is scheduled to return on Feb. 27. The cargo vehicle Automated Transfer Vehicle 5 will be coming back from the ISS bearing a trash load. It already has internal sensors for tracking its activities and behavior as it re-enters the Earth, recording data before it splits up as designed and burns up.
The IXV test flight is important to Europe because the mission will offer valuable information about re-entering the planet. Europe has advanced launcher technologies and orbiting systems but it lags behind the United States when it comes to re-entries.
