[jccooper]

Pretty small. You might say: "It's experimental. Might as well make it small so you can put it on a cheap(er) rocket like the Vega." But they seem to want to make a full system (the PRIDE spaceplane) that also flies on the Vega. The Vega can theoretically lift 1 more ton than the IXV weighs, so there's not a lot of room left for a "full-size". Not quite sure what you do with a small reusable platform. Maybe space systems and sensor development, so they get to fly in the real environment but you can bring them back for analysis. But probably just fulfill the "D" in the name: "Demonstrator." Prove that you can do it so you can try to get money for a larger version.

[fit2rule]

I think the purpose of this program is to provide the ESA with independence from the Russian and American space programs, so with this in mind the IXV and its follow-on projects are going to be very interesting.

Did anyone else notice how fast the Vega liftoff was? I think thats probably one of the fastest, smoothest takeoffs of any launch platform I've seen lately .. certainly impressive.

[trhway]

> independence from the Russian and American space programs

especially given that the capability for global high-precision strikes with highly-maneuvering hypersonic reentry vehicles is a must-have part of very near future arsenal.