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The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) is a
European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
(ESA) experimental
suborbital A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched. Hence, it will not complete one orbital revolution, will no ...
re-entry Atmospheric entry (sometimes listed as Vimpact or Ventry) is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. Atmospheric entry may be ''uncontrolled entry ...
vehicle. It was developed to serve as a prototype
lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift (force), lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as ...
orbital return vehicle to validate the ESA's work in the field of reusable orbital return vehicles. The European Space Agency has a program called
Future Launchers Preparatory Programme The Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is a technology development and maturation programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). It develops technologies for the application in future European launch vehicles and in upgrades to exist ...
(FLPP), which made a call for submissions for a reusable
spaceplane A spaceplane is a vehicle that can flight, fly and gliding flight, glide as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and function as a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbit ...
. 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.
. The vehicle is the first ever
lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift (force), lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as ...
to perform full atmospheric reentry from orbital speed. 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.


Development


Background

During the 1980s and 1990s, there was significant international interest in the development of reusable launch platforms and
reusable spacecraft Reusable spacecraft are spacecraft capable of repeated launch, atmospheric reentry, and landing or splashdown. This contrasts with expendable spacecraft which are designed to be discarded after use. Agencies operating reusable spacecraft aim t ...
, particularly in respect to
spaceplane A spaceplane is a vehicle that can flight, fly and gliding flight, glide as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and function as a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbit ...
s, perhaps the most high-profile examples of these being the American
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
and
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Buran programmes. The national space agencies of European nations, such as France's
Centre National d'Études Spatiales CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation. It operates from the Toulouse Spac ...
(CNES) and Germany's
German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (, abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany, founded in 1969. It is headquartered in Cologne with 3 ...
(DLR), worked on their own designs during this era, the most prominent of these to emerge being the
Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...
spaceplane. Development of the Hermes programme, which was backed by the
European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
(ESA) for several years, was ultimately terminated in 1992 prior to any flights being performed in favour of a partnership arrangement with the
Russian Aviation and Space Agency The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research. Originating from t ...
(RKA) to use the existing
Soyuz spacecraft Soyuz () is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now Energia). The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraf ...
instead. While work on the development of the Hermes vehicle was cancelled during the early 1990s, the ESA maintained its strategic long-term objective to indigenously develop and eventually deploy similar reusable space vehicles. Accordingly, in support of this goal, the ESA embarked upon a series of design studies on different experimental vehicle concepts as well as to refine and improve technologies deemed critical to future reentry vehicles.Tumino, Giorgio and Yves Gerard
"ESA Bulletin 128 - IXV: the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle."
''ESA'', November 2006. In order to test and further develop the technologies and concepts produced by these studies, there were clear needs to accumulate practical flight experience with reentry systems, as well as to maintain and expand upon international cooperation in the fields of space transportation, exploration, and science. Out of these desires emerged the
Future Launchers Preparatory Programme The Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is a technology development and maturation programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). It develops technologies for the application in future European launch vehicles and in upgrades to exist ...
(FLPP), an ESA-headed initiative conceived and championed by a number of its member states, which provided a framework for addressing the challenges and development of the technology associated with reentry vehicles. It was recognised that, in order for significant progress to be made, FLPP would require the production and testing of a prototype reentry vehicle that drew on their existing research, technologies, and designs. By adopting a step-by-step approach using a series of test vehicles prior to the development of a wider series of production vehicles, this approach was seen to reduce the risk and to allow for the integration of progressively more sophisticated developments from the early relatively-low-cost missions. In line with this determination, during early 2005, the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) project was formally initiated by the
Italian Space Agency The Italian Space Agency (; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospac ...
and the Italian Aerospace Research Centre under an Italian programme named PRIDE ( Programme for Reusable In-orbit Demonstrator in Europe) Their main industrial contractor was Next Generation Launcher Prime SpA (NGLP) in Italy. The latter organisation is a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
entity comprising two major European aerospace companies,
Astrium Astrium was a European aerospace company and subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), headquartered in Paris. It designed, developed and manufactured civil and military space systems and provided related services ...
and
Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the 12th largest ...
. The PRIDE programme had the support of various national space agencies, including the
European Space Research and Technology Centre The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands, alth ...
,
Italian Space Agency The Italian Space Agency (; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospac ...
(ASI), French space agency
CNES CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation. It operates from the Toulouse Spac ...
, and Germany's DLR; by November 2006, the IXV was supported by 11 Member States: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Of these, Italy emerged as the principal financial backer of the IXV programme.


Selection and pre-launch testing

The IXV project benefitted from and harnessed much of the research data and operational principles from many of the previously conducted studies, especially from the successful Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator (ARD), which was test-flown during 1998. Early on, during the mission definition and design maturity stages of the project, thorough comparisons were conducted again between existing ESA and national concepts against shared criteria, aimed at evaluating the experiment requirements (technology and systems), programme requirements (technology readiness, development schedule and cost) and risk mitigation (feasibility, maturity, robustness, and growth potential). The selected baseline design, a slender lifting body configuration, drew primarily upon the CNES-led ''Pre-X'' the ESA's ARD vehicles. Development work quickly proceeded through the preliminary design definition phase, reaching a system requirements review by mid-2007. On 18 December 2009, the ESA announced the signing of a contract with
Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (company), Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France. It provides space-based ...
, valued at , to cover 18 months of preliminary IXV work. In 2011, the total estimated cost for the IXV project was reportedly . During late 2012, the IXV's subsonic parachute system was tested at the
Yuma Proving Ground Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is a United States Army series of environmentally specific test centers with its Yuma Test Center (YTC) being one of the largest military installations in the world. It is subordinate to the U.S. Army Test and Evalua ...
in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, United States. Shortly thereafter, a series of water impact tests were conducted at
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche The National Research Council (Italian: ''Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR'') is the largest research council in Italy. As a public organisation, its remit is to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome. ...
's INSEAN research tank near Rome, Italy. On 21 June 2013, an IXV test vehicle was dropped from an altitude of in the
Salto di Quirra Salto di Quirra is a restricted weapons testing range and rocket launch site near Perdasdefogu on the island of Sardinia. It is the largest military range in Italy, composed of 12,000 hectares of land owned by the Ministry of Defence (Italy), Ital ...
range off
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, Italy. The purpose of this test-drop was to validate the vehicle's water-landing system, including the subsonic parachute, flotation balloons, and beacon deployment. A small anomaly was encountered during the inflation of the balloons; however, all of the other systems performed as expected. Following the drop-test, the vehicle was retrieved for further analysis. On 23 June 2014, the recovery ship ''Nos Aries'' conducted a training exercise involving a single IXV test article off the coast of
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
. During June 2014, the IXV test vehicle arrived at the
ESTEC The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands, alth ...
Technical Centre in
Noordwijk Noordwijk () is a town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water and had a population of in . On 1 January 2019, the f ...
, The Netherlands, to undergo a test campaign to confirm its flight readiness in anticipation of a flight on a Vega rocket, which was by that point scheduled to occur during November of that year.


Design

The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) is a prototype uncrewed reusable
spaceplane A spaceplane is a vehicle that can flight, fly and gliding flight, glide as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and function as a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbit ...
—and the precursor of the next model called Space Rider. According to the ESA, the ''Intermediate'' part of its name is due to the shape of the vehicle not necessarily being representative of the envisioned follow-on production spacecraft. It possesses a
lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift (force), lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as ...
arrangement which lacks wings of any sort, resulting in a lift to drag ratio (L/D) of 0.7 during the reentry. The size and shape is balanced between the need to maximise internal volume to accommodate experimental payloads while keeping within the mass limits of the
Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, and ...
launcher and favourable
centre of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. For a ...
. The vehicle purposefully includes several key technologies of interest to the ESA, including its
thermal protection A thermal cutoff is an electrical safety device (either a thermal fuse or thermal switch) that interrupts electric current when heated to a specific temperature. These devices may be for one-time use (a thermal fuse), or may be reset manually or ...
system and the presence of active aerodynamic control surfaces. Control and manoeuvrability of the IXV is provided by a combination of these aerodynamic surfaces (comprising a pair of movable flaps) and thrusters throughout its full flight regime, which includes flying at
hypersonic In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds five times the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above. The precise Mach number at which a craft can be said to be flying at hypersonic speed varies, since i ...
speeds. A key role for the IXV is the gaining of data and experience in aerodynamically controlled reentry, which has been claimed by the ESA to represent significant advances on earlier ballistic and quasi-ballistic techniques previously employed. Throughout each mission, representative reentry performance data is recorded in order to investigate aerothermodynamic phenomena and to validate system design tools and ground verification methods, which in turn supports future design efforts. Reentry is accomplished in a nose-high attitude, similar to the
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
-operated
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
; during this phase of flight, manoeuvring of the spaceplane is accomplished by rolling out-of-plane and then lifting in that direction, akin to a conventional aircraft. Landing is accomplished by an arrangement of
parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...
s, which are ejected during the descent through the top of the vehicle; additionally, seconds prior to landing, a series of
airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. ...
s are inflated to soften the landing. Another key ESA objective for the IXV was the verification of both its structure and its advanced thermal protection measures, specifically their performance during the challenging conditions present during reentry. The underside is covered by
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
thermal protection panels composed of a blend of
carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...
and
silicon carbide Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A wide bandgap semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder a ...
directly fixed to the spaceplane's structure, while ablative materials comprising a
cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
and
silicone In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...
-based composite material coat the vehicle's upper surfaces. The
airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...
was based on a traditional hot-structure/cold-structure arrangement, relying upon a combination of advanced ceramic and metallic assemblies, insulating materials, as well as the effective design of assorted attachments, junctions and seals; the role played by advanced navigation and control techniques was also deemed to be of high importance. The IXV is supported on-orbit by a separate manoeuvring and support module, which is largely similar to the Resource Module that had been intended for use by the cancelled
Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...
shuttle. The
avionics Avionics (a portmanteau of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the ...
of the IXV are controlled by a LEON2-FT microprocessor and are interconnected by a
MIL-STD-1553B MIL-STD-1553 is a military standard published by the United States Department of Defense that defines the mechanical, electrical, and functional characteristics of a serial data bus. It was originally designed as an avionic data bus for use w ...
serial bus. As an experimental vehicle primarily intended to gather data, various assorted sensors and monitoring equipment were present and operational throughout the full length of the flight in order to gather data to support the evaluation effort, including the verification of the vehicle's critical reentry technologies. The recorded data covered various elements of the IXV's flight, including its guidance, navigation, and control systems, such as Vehicle Model Identification (VMI) measurements for post-flight reconstruction of the spacecraft's dynamic behaviour and environment, as well as the mandatory core experiments regarding its reentry technologies. Additionally, the IXV will typically carry complementary passenger experiments which, while not having been directly necessary to its mission success, serve to increase the vehicle's return on investment; according to the ESA, in excess of 50 such proposals had been received from a mixture of European industries, research institutes and universities, many having benefits to future launcher programmes (such as potential additional methods for guidance, navigation, control, structural health monitoring, and thermal protection), space exploration, and scientific value. Throughout each mission,
telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...
is broadcast to ground controllers to monitor the vehicle's progress; however, phenomenon such as the build-up of plasma around the spaceplane during its re-entry has been known to block radio signals.Clark, Stephen
"European space plane flies around the world on test flight ."
''spaceflightnow.com'', 11 February 2015. The IXV is the precursor of the next model named Space Rider, also developed under the Italian PRIDE programme for ESA.


Flight Test

During 2011, it was reported that the IXV was planned to conduct its maiden flight as early as 2013; however, the vehicle was later rescheduled to perform its first launch using the newly developed
Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, and ...
launcher during late 2014. This initial launch window was ultimately missed due to unresolved range safety concerns. Following some delays, on 11 February 2015 the IXV was successfully launched into a suborbital trajectory by a Vega rocket on the VV04 mission. Having launched at 08:40am local time, the vehicle separated from the Vega launch vehicle at 333 km altitude and ascended to 412 km, after which it commenced a controlled descent towards beginning its
reentry Atmospheric entry (sometimes listed as Vimpact or Ventry) is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. Atmospheric entry may be ''uncontrolled entr ...
at 120 km altitude, travelling at a recorded speed of 7.5 km/s, identical to a typical re-entry path to be flown by
low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an geocentric orbit, orbit around Earth with a orbital period, period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an orbital eccentricity, eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial object ...
(LEO) spacecraft. Following re-entry, the IXV glided over the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
prior to the opening of its landing parachutes, which were deployed in order to slow down the craft's descent, having flown over 7300 km from the beginning of its reentry. The vehicle descended to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, where it was subsequently recovered by the ''Nos Aries'' ship; analysis of both the spacecraft itself and recorded mission data took place. Jean-Jacques Dordain, then-director general of the ESA, stated of the mission: "It couldn't have been better, but the mission itself is not yet over... it will move the frontiers of knowledge further back concerning aerodynamics, thermal issues, and guidance and navigation of such a vehicle – this lifting body".


Future Plans

Following on from the completion of the reportedly 'flawless' test flight, ESA officials decided that an additional test flight should be performed during the 2019-2020 timeframe. During this mission, the IXV had been envisioned to land in a different manner, descending directly onto a runway instead of performing a
splashdown Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft or launch vehicle in a body of water, usually by parachute. This has been the primary recovery method of American capsules including NASA’s Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Orion along with th ...
landing as before; this approach is to be achieved either via the installation of a
parafoil A parafoil is a nonrigid (textile) airfoil with an aerodynamic cell structure which is inflated by the wind. Ram-air inflation forces the parafoil into a classic wing cross-section. Parafoils are most commonly constructed out of ripstop nylon. T ...
, or by the adoption of
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...
. The planning for the second spaceflight was originally to begin during March 2015, while design work on the modified vehicle was to commence during mid 2015.


Transition to Space Rider

In the ESA December 2016 Science Budget funding was approved by the Ministerial Council for the next IXV flight in the form of the commercialised Space Rider orbital vehicle. Following design reviews in 2018 and 2019, a full size mockup was to be dropped from a balloon in 2019 and will have a first flight atop a Vega-C in 2020/2021. It will then conduct approximately 5 science flights at 6 to 12-month intervals before becoming commercially available from 2025 at a cost of $40,000 per kg of payload for launch, operation, and return to Earth. The Space Rider mini shuttle will have a length of between 4 and 5 meters, a payload capacity of 800 kg, a total mass of 2,400 kg, and endurance of 2 to 6-month missions at a 400 km orbit before returning to Earth and being reflown within 4 months. The Vega-C rocket's 4th stage payload dispenser AVUM acts as the service module for the shuttle, providing orbital manoeuvring and braking, power, and communications before being jettisoned for re-entry. The AVUM service module replaces the integrated IXV Propulsion Module and frees 0.8 m3 of internal space in the vehicle for a payload bay. The Space Rider is similar in operation to the US X-37B but half the X37's length and a fifth the X37's mass and payload capacity, which will make it the smallest and lightest spaceplane to ever fly. Payload doors will be opened on achieving orbit exposing instruments and experiments to space before being closed for landing. In December 2020, ESA signed contracts with co-prime contractors
Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (company), Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France. It provides space-based ...
and
Avio Avio S.p.A. is an Italian company operating in the aerospace sector with its head office in Colleferro near Rome, Italy. Founded in 1908, it is present in Italy and abroad with different commercial offices and 10 production sites. Avio operate ...
for delivery of the Space Rider flight model. The first flight is now scheduled in late 2025.


Specifications


See also

*
2015 in spaceflight In 2015, the maiden spaceflights of the Chinese Long March 6 and Long March 11 launch vehicles took place. A total of 87 orbital launches were attempted in 2015, of which 82 were successful, one was partially successful and four were fai ...
* Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator (ARD) - ESA reentry testbed flown in 1998 * European eXPErimental Re-entry Testbed (EXPERT) - research programme developing materials used in IXV, never flown *
Future Launchers Preparatory Programme The Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is a technology development and maturation programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). It develops technologies for the application in future European launch vehicles and in upgrades to exist ...
- parent programme for IXV *
Hopper Hopper or hoppers may refer to: Places * Hopper, Illinois * Hopper, West Virginia * Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan * Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury People * Hopper (surname) Insects * Hopper, the ...
- an earlier ESA project for a crewed spaceplane, cancelled * HYFLEX (Hypersonic Flight Experiment) - equivalent Japanese spaceplane demonstrator for HOPE-X developed and flown by NASDA in 1996 * RLV-TD - Indian reusable technology validation test bed, in development by ISRO * Space Rider - orbital spaceplane developed from IXV technologies * List of European Space Agency programmes and missions


References


Further reading

* * * * *


External links


Official IXV website

IXV Twitter profile
*
Full replay from liftoff to splashdown for IXV reentry mission
', ESA Multimedia Gallery (11 February 2015) *
IXV first results press conference
', ESA Space in Videos (16 June 2015) *
ESA's IXV reentry vehicle mission
', ESA Multimedia Gallery (2012 animation) *
IXV: learning to come back from Space
'
IXV Video News Release VNR
*
ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle
', ESA Multimedia Gallery (2008 animation) * ESA Euronews
"Splashdown – the re-entry test"
(2013-08-22).
CNES reusable atmospheric re-entry vehicle: PRE-X
{{DEFAULTSORT:Intermediate Experimental Vehicle Atmospheric entry CNES European Space Agency satellites Hypersonic aircraft 2010s international experimental aircraft Spacecraft launched in 2015 Spaceplanes Suborbital spaceflight Spacecraft launched by Vega rockets Technology demonstrations