Rob Coppinger, SPACE.com Contributor A European-built robot
space plane could be soaring in orbit before the end of the
decade if the program to develop it gains funding approval next
month. The Innovative Space Vehicle (ISV) would be Europe’s
civilian equivalent of the U.S. Air Force’s unmanned X-37B
Orbital Test Vehicle, a robotic miniature space shuttle that has
flown on two missions since 2010. The unmanned space plane would
be much smaller than the Air Force vehicle, however. Its fate
rests with the European Space Agency’s ministers, who are
scheduled to meet Nov. 20-21 in Italy. The ESA ministerial
meeting is conducted every three years to decide programs and
funding for the period until the next meeting. PRIDE (the
Program for Reusable In-orbit Demonstrator in Europe) will be
seeking funding there for the ISV, which would be a follow-up to
its Intermediate Experimental Vehicle (or IXV), currently being
built after months of delays.