Space Plane...

Credit: ESA/J. Huart, 2011

Topics: European Space Agency, Space Exploration, Spaceflight

The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch an experimental space plane this Wednesday to test out technologies needed for vehicles to survive the return to Earth from space.

The unmanned space plane, called the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), is slated to blast off Wednesday (Feb. 11) at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) from French Guiana. Its suborbital flight will last 100 minutes.

Space.com: Europe's Experimental Mini-Space Shuttle to Launch Wednesday,
by Elizabeth Howell, Space.com contributor