Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle
The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) is a European Space Agency (ESA) experimental suborbital re-entry vehicle. It was developed to serve as a prototype lifting body orbital return vehicle to validate the ESA's work in the field of reusable orbital return vehicles.
Artist's view of IXV reentry phase | |
| Mission type | technology demonstration |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA |
| Website | ESA Reentry technologies |
| Apogee | 412 km (256 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | lifting body |
| Manufacturer | Thales Alenia Space |
| Launch mass | 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 13:40, 11 February 2015 (UTC) |
| Rocket | Vega |
| Launch site | Guiana Space Centre ELV |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 11 February 2015 |
| Landing site | Pacific Ocean |
Programme for Reusable In-orbit Demonstrator in Europe (PRIDE program) | |
The European Space Agency has a program called Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP), which made a call for submissions for a reusable spaceplane. One of the submissions was by the Italian Space Agency, that presented their own Programme for Reusable In-orbit Demonstrator in Europe (PRIDE program) which went ahead to develop an initial test vehicle, Pre-X, followed the prototype named Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) and the consequential Space Rider that inherits technology from its prototype IXV.
On 11 February 2015, the IXV conducted its first 100-minute suborbital space flight, successfully completing its mission upon landing intact on the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The vehicle is the first ever lifting body to perform full atmospheric reentry from orbital speed.: 23 Past missions have flight tested either winged bodies, which are highly controllable but also very complex and costly, or capsules, which are difficult to control but offer less complexity and lower cost.