ESA’s Spaceplane Is a Bit Banged Up After Its Fiery Trip
After successfully completing its 100-minute, remotely operated ride, the European Space Agency’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) was lifted aboard the Nos Aries, ESA’s recovery ship, as we can see in this photo above released by the space agency today. During its fiery atmospheric reentry the 5-metre-long, two-tonne craft decelerated from hypersonic to supersonic speed, to…
