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The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
IXV, the ‘Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle’ was a lifting-body spacecraft that proved Europe had all the technology and know-how to send a reusable vehicle to space – and back.
The journey
Launch: 13:40 GMT (14:40 CET, 10:40 local time) on 11 February 2015
Launch location: Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana