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The IXV project passed its system Critical Design
Review (CDR) in May and this agreement prepares
the start of the final development and integration
phase.Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the
design, development and integration of the IXV
vehicle, leading a consortium from European industry,
research centers and universities. The IXV vehicle
will be delivered to ESA in 2013, for a launch
by the Vega rocket.
“ESA’s advanced IXV project, strongly
supported by the Italian Space Agency ASI, will
allow Europe to develop expertise in reentry technologies,”
said Luigi Maria Quaglino, Thales Alenia Space
Senior Vice President for Space Infrastructures
and Transportation. “We see IXV as the precursor
to a series of vehicles that will be used for
solar system exploration and space transportation
applications. Along with our partners, Thales
Alenia Space is greatly looking forward to this
highly challenging and motivating project.”
The IXV project aims to develop an autonomous
European atmospheric reentry system, offering
excellent aerodynamic performance due to its lifting
body shape, along with a high-performance control
system based on propulsion vectoring and aerodynamic
surfaces, and advanced thermal protection systems
for atmospheric reentry.
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