Tag: PRIDE

  • Engineers to assess reusability of Europe’s wingless space plane

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    Europe’s IXV re-entry demonstrator is lifted out of the Pacific Ocean onto the Nos Aries recovery ship after Wednesday’s test flight. Credit: ESA–Tommaso Javidi, 2015 Back on Earth after a whirlwind journey 20,000 miles around the world, an experimental re-entry demonstrator is on the way to Europe for post-flight inspections aimed at gathering design inputs…

  • European space plane flies around the world on test flight

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    Artist’s concept of the Intermediate Experimental Vehicle. Credit: ESA Europe launched a sleek new space plane more than 250 miles above Earth on Wednesday, testing its maneuverability, on-board guidance systems, and a next-generation heat shield as the experimental vehicle glided through the atmosphere toward a pinpoint splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The test flight marked…

  • European space plane flies around the world on test flight

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    by

    starpathwp-production
    in

    Artist’s concept of the Intermediate Experimental Vehicle. Credit: ESA Europe launched a sleek new space plane more than 250 miles above Earth on Wednesday, testing its maneuverability, on-board guidance systems, and a next-generation heat shield as the experimental vehicle glided through the atmosphere toward a pinpoint splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The test flight marked…

  • ESA re-entry vehicle could pave way for reusable launcher

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    Artist’s concept of the Intermediate Experimental Vehicle. Credit: ESA European engineers are eager to test an experimental re-entry demonstrator Wednesday to validate technologies for future robotic exploration probes, winged space planes, and reusable rocket boosters. The European Space Agency’s Intermediate Experimental Vehicle — about the size of a family car — will take off at…