• → European Space Agency

      • Space for Europe
      • Space News
      • Space in Images
      • Space in Videos
    • About Us

      • Welcome to ESA
      • DG's news and views
      • For Member State Delegations
      • Business with ESA
      • Law at ESA
      • ESA Exhibitions
      • ESA Publications
      • Careers at ESA
      • ESAshop
    • Our Activities

      • Space News
      • Observing the Earth
      • Human Spaceflight
      • Space Transportation
      • Navigation
      • Space Science
      • Space Engineering & Technology
      • Operations
      • Telecommunications & Integrated Applications
      • Preparing for the Future
    • Careers at ESA

    • For Media

      • Media
      • ESA TV
      • Videos for professionals
      • Photos
    • For Educators

    • For Kids

    • ESA

    • Paris Air & Space Show

    • Welcome to ESA
    • DG's News and Views
    • Establishments
      and facilities
    • Careers at ESA
    • Education with ESA
    • Business with ESA
    • ESA activities
    • Observing the Earth
    • Human Spaceflight
    • Space Transportation
    • Navigation
    • Space Science
    • Space Engineering
    • Operations
    • Technology
    • Telecommunications & Integrated Applications
    • Future activities
    • Media Centre
    • Press Releases
    • ESA Television
    • Launch Media Corner
    • Exhibitions

    ESA > About Us > Paris Air & Space Show

    ESA reentry vehicle on track for flight in 2013

    IXV
    IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle
    21 June 2011

    ESA and Thales Alenia Space Italia announced an agreement today at the Paris Air & Space Show to begin building the IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle for its mission into space in 2013.

    Europe’s ambition for a spacecraft to return autonomously from low orbit is a cornerstone for a wide range of space applications, including space transportation, exploration and robotic servicing of space infrastructure.

    This goal will be achieved with IXV, which is the next step from the Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator flight of 1998. More manoeuvrable and able to make precise landings, IXV is the ‘intermediate’ element of Europe’s path to future developments with limited risks.

    IXV launched into space

    Launched into a suborbital trajectory on ESA’s small Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, IXV will return to Earth as if from a low-orbit mission, to test and qualify new European critical reentry technologies such as advanced ceramic and ablative thermal protection.

    The 2 t lifting body will attain an altitude of around 450 km, allowing it to reach a velocity of 7.5 km/s on entering the atmosphere. It will collect a large amount of data during its hypersonic and supersonic flight, while it is being controlled by thrusters and aerodynamic flaps.

    The craft will then descend by parachute and land in the Pacific Ocean to await recovery and analysis.


    The detailed design and critical technologies are ready. Today’s agreement allows the vehicle’s manufacturing, assembly, integration and qualification to begin.

    Procurement of the ground network will also begin, including the mission control centre, ground station telemetry kits, transportable antennas and communication network.

    Signature of agreement to build IXV

    Formal approval for signing the contract will come at the end of June from ESA’s Industrial Policy Committee.

    “Less than two years after the Agency requested industry to quote the activities for IXV, the progress made is remarkable. The achievement of major milestones, such as the Critical Design Review, gives us the confidence to believe that the vehicle will be ready in two years,” says Antonio Fabrizi, ESA Director of Launchers.

    “Today’s agreement confirms that ESA and industry are committed to keep up with the challenging schedule and be ready for flight in 2013.”

    “Thanks to this agreement, the IXV mission into space has become a near-term reality. Its success will provide Europe with valuable know-how on reentry systems and flight-proven technologies that are necessary to support the Agency’s future ambitions, including return missions from low Earth orbit,” says Giorgio Tumino, IXV Project Manager.

    “In the long term, studies on the evolution of IXV will be consolidated and proposed to Member States, focusing on an affordable reusable craft for operating and servicing payloads in orbit before returning to touch down on land.”

    Rate this

    Views

    Share

    • Currently 5 out of 5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    Rating: 5/5 (1 votes cast)

    Thank you for rating!

    You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!

    Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!

    1621
    Tweet
    • Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV)
    • Related articles
      • New milestone in IXV development
        • IXV prepares the European Low Earth Orbit return ambition
        • IXV flyer
    • App Store
    • Subscribe
    • mobile version
    • LATEST ARTICLES
    • · Seventh Sentinel satellite launche…
    • · Gaia creates richest star map of o…
    • · ESA teams ready for space
    • · Space smash: simulating when satel…
    • · Sentinel-3B on launch pad
    • FAQ

    • Site Map

    • Contacts

    • Terms and conditions