The project began over a decade ago.
AB Wire
India on Monday successfully tested its first indigenously built winged Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV); a mini-shuttle from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
“We have successfully accomplished the RLV-TD mission. The lift-off was at 7.00 am from the first launch pad here,” Devi Prasad Karnik, Director of Indian Space Research Organisation, said to news agencies.
The mini-shuttle returned to the earth’s atmosphere and plunged into the Bay of Bengal as expected.
The test launch is considered a significant step in India’s space endeavor. It qualified India to enter the club of space-faring nations like the US, Russia, and Japan, which developed and used RLVs for their space missions over the year.
The project began over a decade ago at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and costs about 95 crores.
The mission has enabled ISRO to collect data on hypersonic speed, autonomous landing and powered cruise flight using air-breathing propulsion.
“The long-term objective of this mission is to reduce the launch cost by 80 per cent of the present cost by using a reusable vehicle,” Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre director K Sivan said.
ISRO’s telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) in Bengaluru will collect the data from the vehicle.
Social Media Updates:
Heartiest congratulations to ISRO Team on successful launch of India's first indigenous space shuttle RLV-TD #PresidentMukherjee
— President Mukherjee (@POI13) May 23, 2016
Launch of India's first indigenous space shuttle RLV-TD is the result of the industrious efforts of our scientists. Congrats to them.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2016