DocM Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 This will be similar to India's upcoming launch of their Avatar (RLV-TD); a suborbital test of aerodynsmics, thermal protection and guidance/controls. The shape is known as a lifting body and the paddles in the rear do most of the aerodynamic control, in combination with a reaction control system for use in space. Operationally a scaled up version could do long duration robotic missions, somewhat akin to the US X-37B. Length: 5 m Height: 1.5 m Width: 2.2 m Mass: ~2 tonnes Launcher: Vega Launch: February 11 from the Guiana Space Centre. Overview http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/IXV/Overview Spacecraft http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/IXV/IXV_spacecraft IXV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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