Prototype hoisted aboard

On 23 June 2014, a prototype of the suborbital IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle was recovered off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, in a practice run for the launch of the real spacecraft in 2015. A crane dropped the two-tonne vehicle into the water for the crew to practise the tricky manoeuvres. The rehearsal even allowed for an upside-down splashdown.