IXV, Europe's Intermediate Experimental Vehicle, will soon be launched by VEGA into a suborbital path. As it re-enters the atmosphere, IXV will test new critical technologies to advance Europe's ambition to return autonomously from space.
The launch date is currently for February 11, 2015.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_eXperimental_Vehicle
Credit/Courtesy: ESA
