PARIS (ESA PR) — ESA’s latest mission will enter the vacuum of space, not aboard a rocket but by being released from the International Space Station. The first task of the shoebox-sized Qarman CubeSat is simply to fall. While typical space missions resist orbital decay, Qarman will drift down month by month until it reenters the atmosphere, at which point it will gather a wealth of data on the fiery physics of reentry.

ESA's IXV re-entry test vehicle.

ESA PROGRAM UPDATE
15 September 2010

Today, ESA held the first IXV Industrial Workshop. Thales Alenia Space and its main industrial partners presented the detailed design of ESA’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle. The workshop was hosted by Dassault Aviation in Saint Cloud, France.

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