Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully test launched its maiden winged reusable launch vehicle (RLV) early Monday from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
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ISRO officials also confirmed that the launch was a success.
Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) weighs about 1.75 tons.
Nasa grounded its space shuttle programme in 2011 after using its reusable vehicles like Discovery, Endeavor, Columbia and Challenger for over three decades to launch various missions, including the International Space Station (ISS) and the Hubble telescope. It was built by a team of 600 scientists at a cost of Rs 95 crore over five years. After launch it was glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal, some 500 km from the coast. The first in the series is the hypersonic flight experiment (HEX), followed by the landing experiment (LEX), return flight experiment (REX) and scramjet propulsion experiment (SPEX). “This data from RLV-TD’s launch is going to be used for configuring the real reusable launch vehicle”.
A renewed interest worldwide through the pioneering efforts of private companies like the Elon Musk-founded SpaceX in the United States in creating cost-effective launch vehicles, that can fly hundreds of times into space in their lifespan, appears to have also rekindled fresh efforts at ISRO.
The vehicle will re-enter the atmosphere after reaching a height of over 70 km.
ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration Program is a series of technology demonstration missions that have been considered as a first step towards realizing a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable vehicle.
A reusable launch vehicle is the unanimous solution to achieve low cost, reliable and on-demand space access, says the space organisation.
The successful launch is expected to cut cost of launching rockets for carrying satellites by 10 times as competition mounts in the burgeoning commercial space launch industry.
“We are looking at frugal engineering, developing advanced systems efficiently”, said K. Sivan, director of Isro’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
The vehicle, however, will not be recovered, being a “dummy”.
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The final version will take at least 10-15 years to get ready. This flight will test the capability of the vehicle to survive a re-entry at speeds higher than that of sound.
