Standort: fm4.ORF.at / Meldung: "Today's Webtip: IXV"

Dave Dempsey

Dave digs the Dirt, webtips, IT-memes and other online geekery. Also as Podcast.

12. 2. 2015 - 10:59

Today's Webtip: IXV

ESA launched and recovered their experimental spaceplane yesterday.

Big day in reusable space devices yesterday. While SpaceX and the Falcon9 hogged all of the headlines, the ESA sent their new spaceplane up in order to watch it come down again.

The IXV looks like a wingless, mini space shuttle, and is being designed with the goal of being able to land it on a standard runway. Yesterday's launch had a couple of goals, one of which was to test the heat shields on the bottom of the IXV.

You can find out all about it in this very long video which covers the whole mission as well as a few talking heads who explain things.