India successfully flight tested it’s first winged spacecraft, the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD). Developed...
India successfully flight tested it’s first winged spacecraft, the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD).
Developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the RLV-TD resembles a mini Space Shuttle and is considered as a first step towards realising a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully reusable orbital spacecraft.
The vehicle operating in hypersonic flight regime, was launched on top of a HS9 solid rocket booster from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The HS9 booster burned out after 91.1 second from lift off, lifting the RLV-TD to a height of about 56 km. At that height, RLV-TD separated from HS9 booster and further ascended to a height of about 65km.
From that peak altitude of 65 km, RLV-TD began its descent followed by atmospheric re-entry at around Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound).
The vehicle’s Navigation, Guidance and Control system accurately steered the vehicle during this phase for safe descent. After successfully surviving a high temperatures of re-entry with the help of its Thermal Protection System (TPS), RLV-TD successfully glided down to the defined landing spot over Bay of Bengal, at a distance of about 450 km from Sriharikota.
Total flight time of the delta winged RLV-TD weighing 1700 kg, lasted for about 770 seconds.
In this flight, critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance & control, reusable thermal protection system and re-entry mission management have been successfully validated.
Development of the full scale version, which will be six times bigger than the present one, will take more than 10 years.
Developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the RLV-TD resembles a mini Space Shuttle and is considered as a first step towards realising a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully reusable orbital spacecraft.
The vehicle operating in hypersonic flight regime, was launched on top of a HS9 solid rocket booster from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The HS9 booster burned out after 91.1 second from lift off, lifting the RLV-TD to a height of about 56 km. At that height, RLV-TD separated from HS9 booster and further ascended to a height of about 65km.
From that peak altitude of 65 km, RLV-TD began its descent followed by atmospheric re-entry at around Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound).
The vehicle’s Navigation, Guidance and Control system accurately steered the vehicle during this phase for safe descent. After successfully surviving a high temperatures of re-entry with the help of its Thermal Protection System (TPS), RLV-TD successfully glided down to the defined landing spot over Bay of Bengal, at a distance of about 450 km from Sriharikota.
Total flight time of the delta winged RLV-TD weighing 1700 kg, lasted for about 770 seconds.
In this flight, critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance & control, reusable thermal protection system and re-entry mission management have been successfully validated.
Development of the full scale version, which will be six times bigger than the present one, will take more than 10 years.
