'Floatable balloon'

On 15 September, 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.

This was the first opportunity for industry to present the hardware development activities that have been undertaken to support the proposed design solutions.

The development model of a 'floatable balloon' was presented at the event. It will allow the safe recovery of IXV as it lands in the Pacific Ocean and awaits recovery.