Tag: IXV

  • Live coverage: European mini-shuttle back on Earth

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    Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega rocket with the European Space Agency’s Intermediate Experimental Vehicle. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

  • Photos: ESA re-entry testbed prepared for liftoff

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    Engineers have put the finishing touches on a prototype spaceship representing a leap in European space technology, aiming for liftoff Feb. 11 for a flight 260 miles into space and back to Earth for a pinpoint splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The Intermediate Experimental Vehicle will blast off aboard a lightweight European Vega launcher from…

  • Europe’s re-entry demonstrator mated to Vega rocket

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    .@esa #ixv and #vega finally together for the last preparation phase! #VV04 #100minutemission pic.twitter.com/QMHTViKThh — ESA IXV (@esa_ixv) January 31, 2015 Launch crews in French Guiana have mounted an innovative European space plane on top of a solid-fueled Vega launcher for a Feb. 11 suborbital test flight. The European Space Agency’s Intermediate Experimental Vehicle was…

  • Europe’s spaceplane on a trajectory for February launch

    Europe’s spaceplane on a trajectory for February launch

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    ESA’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) spaceplane is finally into its final processing flow towards launch, following the loading of propellants and work to encapsulate the vehicle inside its payload fairing. The launch – atop a Vega rocket – is set for February 11, following a decision to alter the launch trajectory due to safety concerns. IVX Ready:…

  • Launch campaign resumes for ESA space plane

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    The European Space Agency’s Intermediate Experimental Vehicle inside a clean room at the Guiana Space Center. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon Engineers are resuming preparations to launch an experimental European re-entry test vehicle on a Vega rocket Feb. 11 after a two-month delay ordered by safety authorities to analyze…

  • ESA’s experimental space plane gearing up for November debut

    ESA’s experimental space plane gearing up for November debut

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    The European Space Agency (ESA) Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) is enjoying a stay in Holland ahead of being shipped to Kourou, French Guiana to meet up with her Vega launch vehicle. The IXV space plane is in the Netherlands for a “shaking”, simulating the vibrations and stresses she can expect to endure atop of Vega during the…

  • ESA and Arianespace closing in on Vega’s debut launch

    ESA and Arianespace closing in on Vega’s debut launch

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    A new launch vehicle will be born in the coming weeks, as the small orbital launch vehicle “Vega” prepares for its long awaiting launch from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. Vega will complete Arianespace’s family of three launch vehicles, following the successful debut of Soyuz in Kourou last year and the continued…