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IPFS News Link • Space Travel and Exploration

ESA Successfully Test-Flies Mini-Spaceplane

• popsci.com

While SpaceX aims to launch NASA's DSCOVR satellite later tonight, the European Space Agency launched its own spaceplane earlier this morning aboard a Vega rocket.

Called the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle—or IXV—the spaceplane looks like a miniature version of NASA's Space Shuttle. That makes sense given the vehicle's purpose; the robotically controlled IXV is meant to help the ESA figure out the best designs for a future reusable vehicle—one that can autonomously reenter the Earth's atmosphere from space.

But unlike the shuttle, the wingless IXV has a lifting body design. That means the spacecraft itself generates lift within the atmosphere. To do this, the shape of the IXV resembles something of a giant wing, helping it to minimize drag during reentry.


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