This replica was built to be dropped from a helicopter and parachuted into the Mediterranean, to ensure the flight model would survive splashdown at the end of its plunge from space.
The actual spaceplane will fly on a Vega launcher this November, coasting as high as 450 km before gliding back to Earth. In the process, it will gather valuable data on atmospheric reentry conditions.
The flight model was, until this week, being tested for space only a few tens of metres away from its drop-test twin, within the cleanroom environment of the ESTEC Test Centre.
With its test programme complete, it has now been flown to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana to begin its launch campaign.
Having been designed for a sea splashdown, the drop-test model can readily withstand the Dutch weather. Visitors can view it in its new position outside the Test Centre throughout the Open Day.
The launch of a robotic space plane prototype in November could pave the way toward the creation of a reusable cargo vehicle that would survive the blistering re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, according to the European Space Agency.
The flight plan calls for Vega to make an eastward flight, different than its usual polar orbit track, to release IXV into a suborbital path that would end in the Pacific Ocean.
Officials with the space agency hope to eventually use the reusable space place as an automated vehicle that will fly through the atmosphere aerodynamically, controlled by thrusters and its surfaces, then splash down safely in the sea.
Technicians do final tests on the European Space Agency's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) ahead of its expected launch in November 2014. Credit: ESA
"In this mission we are not only monitoring the spacecraft all along its autonomous flight, but also tracking its progress back to Earth to a particular spot, this is different [than] what we are used to," Giorgio Tumino, the project manager for IXV, said in a statement.
IXV will include sensors and infrared cameras to examine how heating is distributed across the belly of the spacecraft.
The space plane will also fly with new technologically advanced features.
"The technical advancements that have been made since the first experiments with our Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator in 1996 are huge," Jose Longo, ESA's head of aerothermodynamics, said in the same statement.
"This is the first flight demonstration of features such as highly advanced thermal structures: thrusters and flaps that are part of the control system, and the 300 sensors and infrared camera to map the heating all along the spacecraft from the nose to the flaps. These things just cannot be tested in the same way in laboratories."
ESA is also going to test an infrared camera on its final automated transfer vehicle (ATV), called Georges Lemaitre, on a mission launching to the International Space Station Tuesday (July 29).
The ATV is designed to break up in Earth's atmosphere during re-entry after it leaves the space station about six months after it docks, according to ESA.
For the first time, ESA plans to track the spacecraft's re-entry using a special infrared camera.
The camera will transmit information to a special pod designed to survive re-entry, which will then send the information on to Earth through the Iridium satellite network.
EADS Airbus Defence and Space Astrium, the world’s second largest space company, is preparing for the launch of KazEOSat-1 (formerly known as DZZ-HR), which is due to lift off on 28 April 2014 into low Sun-synchronous orbit (about 700 km from Earth) on-board a Vega launcher from the European spaceport in Kourou (French Guiana).
Kazakhstan's first Earth observation satellite is to be fired into orbit next week from the European spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana.
The 830-kilogramme (1,829-pound) orbiter will provide Kazakhstan with data for mapmaking and security, monitor changes in nature and agriculture, and provide support for rescue operations in case of natural disaster, it said in a statement.
The satellite, dubbed KazEOSat-1, will take off on a lightweight Vega launcher overnight on Monday, Kourou time.
It will orbit the Earth at about 700 kilometres (435 miles) and remain in service for seven years.
KazEOSat-1 is a 900kg high-resolution satellite. From a low sun-synchronous orbit it will provide the Republic of Kazakhstan with a complete range of civil applications, including monitoring of natural and agricultural resources, provision of mapping data, and support for rescue operations in the event of a natural disaster.
The name "VEGA" is an acronym for Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata, which translates to "Advanced Generation European Carrier Rocket." VEGA is the new, expendable space launch vehicle now in use by Arianespace, launching from the Guiana Space Centre located in Kourou, French Guiana.
Although the concept began as a pure Italian venture, serious development started in 1998 after ISA and ESA joined forces. The first VEGA launch took place on February 13, 2012.
The design provides for payloads in the range of 300 to 2,500 kg. This satisfies many satellite applications such as scientific experiments and Earth observation missions.
Orbital destination options include polar and other low Earth orbits. The reference VEGA mission is placing a 1,500-kg satellite into a 700-km polar orbit.
VEGA consists of three solid rocket stages: P80 first stage; Zefiro 23 second stage; Zefiro 9 third stage.
In addition, there is a liquid rocket upper module called AVUM (Attitude Vernier Upper Module).
This module consists of a propulsion unit and an avionics package. AVUM uses the Ukrainian RD-869 rocket engine which burns pressure-fed UDMH and nitrogen tetroxide.
The first VEGA launch about 14 months ago carried several small satellites to low Earth orbits.
The second launch (VV02), scheduled for this week, will demonstrate extended capabilities partially due to the addition of the VESPA (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter).
This will allow the release of three satellites into two different orbits.
Proba-V is the prime payload on VV02 and is the first of four ESA missions that will use Vega. This satellite carries a reduced version of the Vegetation camera currently flying on the Spot satellites to provide a daily overview of global vegetation growth.
The other two payloads are the Vietnam Natural Resources, Environment and Disaster Monitoring Satellite (VNRedsat) and ESTCube-1, a test of advanced solar sail technologies
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