ISRO developing reusable launch vehicle

A model of Re entry launch vehicle (RLV)

ISRO‘s design of the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) has been approved by the National Review Committee. An ISRO official said design-related issues have been addressed and presented to the National Review Committee and clearance obtained to go ahead to build the RLV-TD.

The space agency, as a first step towards realizing a Two-Stage To Orbit (TSTO) re-usable launch vehicle, has developed a winged RLV-TD. ISRO, in its recently released annual report, stated that design options have been finalized. Besides, the mission design has been completed with a revised vehicle mass. The RLV-TD will act as a flying test-bed to evaluate various technologies — hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air breathing propulsion.

The first in the series of trials is the Hypersonic Flight Experiment (HEX) followed by the landing experiment (LEX), Return Flight Experiment (REX) and Scramjet Propulsion Experiment (SPEX).

During HEX, the vehicle will take lift off in the form of a rocket with a booster. Later, it can be recovered from sea. Though the trials for the first experiment are slated to take place this year, an Isro official said the launch date for carrying out HEX from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota has not been fixed. The development and flight testing of the Reusable Launch Vehicles-Technology demonstrator missions leading to Two-Stage To Orbit (TSTO) is part of India’s Space Vision 2025 and is expected to bring down cost significantly.

ISRO, in January 2007, conducted the Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1). Launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on January 10, 2007, the capsule was successfully recovered on January 22, 2007, from the Bay of Bengal.