Today theEuropean Space Agency ’s test spaceplanewent on a successful 100 - minute , remotely - operated drive along the equator from Kourou , French Guiana to the Pacific Ocean , just west of the Galapagos islands .
IXV was launched 340 km into space on top of a Vega rocket , flight VV04 , had climbed to 412 km before begin a long sailplaning back through the atmosphere . Duringthe flight , IXV tested the latest engineering and critical system to help head the design of next spaceplanes and reusable launcher .
We address the case live based onESA ’s live videoandTwitter feed :
Update 1 :
RT @esa_ixv : Countdown on hold , launch root word red , we ’ll keep you posted.#IXV#VV04
— ESA Operations ( @esaoperations)February 11 , 2015
Update 2 :
IXVRT@Arianespace:#VegaFlight#VV04update : Go - ahead has been yield for the resumption of the countdown
Update 3 :
And the clock is ticking again .
Update 4 :
And liftoff !
Update 5 :
breakup of first and 2d stages has been confirmed .
Update 6 :
Jettisoning of aerodynamic fairing#Vega#VV04is now in space!#IXV
Update 7 :
Vega#VV04Separation of third stage#IXVAltitude abt 193 kilometer
Update 8 :
The quaternary microscope stage ’s engine is now burn down to inject the Vega and its payload into a objective orbit .
Update 9 :
Separation – # IXVnow in spare flight . Well done,@arianespace!!#VV04#vega
Update 10 :
foreign mission control Turin now meet status information from#IXVwingless spaceplane . Teams update splashdown loc guess
Update 11 :
Shortly , Libreville place will lose radio set contact , as expected , followed by Malindi place . Then , no news from#IXVuntil after reentry
Update 12 :
concord to ESA everything seems o.k. !
Operations Director at Turin : all#IXVsystems green following Malindi loss of contact . Nominal splashdown expected!pic.twitter.com / tGGNkDRqF0
Update 13 :
Watch the replay of Vega liftoff with IXV here :
Update 14 :
This is how the equatorial trajectory of the spaceplane looks like :
Update 15 :
ESA reports : In 7 minutes , ESA ’s spaceplane will dive into Earth ’s atmosphere at circa 120 km EL act at 27,000 km / hr . All systems look okay , both in outer space and on the soil .
Update 16 :
And we have a spaceplane again !
RECEIPT OF SIGNAL#AOS#NosAriesrecovery ship has established contact with#IXVafter fiery reentry at 27,000km / 60 minutes
Update 17 :
opening move of the principal chute is confirmed !
Update 18 :
4min to splashown . Floatation panels jettisoned @esa_ixv
— lionelferra ( @lionelferra)February 11 , 2015
Update 19 :
And splashdown ! European Space Agency ’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle ( IXV ) is back on Earth , the 100 minutes prospicient military mission has been succesfully completed .
This fine time - lapse telecasting below , shows IXV ’s preparation , fair encapsulation , change to the Vega mobile gantry and upper composite integration on the Vega launcher .
ScienceSpaceSpaceplane
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