The European Space Agency's (ESA) Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) launched on Wednesday for a test flight and successfully completed its mission, marking a critical step in the agency's development of re-entry technologies.

The IXV blasted off on Feb. 11 from the Spaceport in French Guiana, strapped to a Vega rocket. The space plane separated from the rocket after hitting an altitude of 211 miles and continued on until it reached 256 miles.

On its way back, the IXV recorded massive amounts of data through over 300 sensors installed on the spacecraft. With an entry speed of 4.7 miles per second from 75 miles up, it was able to recreate the same conditions a spacecraft returning from orbiting low Earth would experience.

After re-entering the atmosphere, the IXV's parachutes deployed, further slowing down its descent, which allowed the space plane to safely splash down just west of the Galapagos Island into the Pacific Ocean. Balloons kept the IXV floating until the recovery ship arrived. It's headed for the ESA technical center ESTEC for a more detailed analysis.

ALTEC Advanced Logistics Technology Engineering Center's Mission Control Center in Italy monitored closely the activities of the IXV during the test flight, gathering instrument and flight data from the whole ground network, including fixed ground stations in Kenya and Gabon and the station installed on the recovery ship Nos Aries.

Initial results from the test flight may be made available in about six weeks. All data collected during the mission will aid the Programme for Reusable In-Orbit Demonstrator for Europe (PRIDE), the ESA's next mission. When the PRIDE space plane launches, it will be landing on a runway.

"IXV has opened a new chapter for ESA in terms of re-entry capabilities and reusability," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general for the ESA.

This means that the agency and the rest of the participants in Europe's space industry are now ready to face the challenges of space transportation, robotic exploration, future launches and human spaceflight.

Giorgio Tumino, IXV project manager, noted that the mission might have been short but it had a big impact. Cutting-edge technology was validated during the test flight, and the numerous data gathered during the mission will help open up other opportunities for Europe to come up with more ambitious plans involving space travel for various applications.

The ESA will release footage of the IXV's recovery once the agency receives a copy from the recovery ship.