ISRO
India’s National Review Committee (NRC) has approved the design of the winged Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

With this initiative, India is expected to join the select group that possesses reusable launch vehicles, reports DNA. The ISRO has addressed design-related issues and obtained clearance from the NRC to build the RLV-TD, an official from the organisation said. The space agency developed the winged RLV-TD as its initial step towards realising a two-stage to orbit (TSTO) re-usable launch vehicle.

As a flying test-bed, the RLV-TD will be used for evaluating a range of technologies including autonomous landing, hypersonic flight, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air breathing propulsion. The hypersonic flight experiment (HEX) is the first to undergo trials, followed by the landing experiment (LEX), return flight experiment (REX) and scramjet propulsion experiment (SPEX).

The HEX will involve the lift-off of the vehicle in the form of a rocket with a booster that will be recovered from the sea. While the first experiment trials are scheduled to take place in 2012, the launch date from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota has not been fixed.

"The development and flight-testing of the RLV-TD missions leading to TSTO is part of India’s Space Vision 2025 and is expected to bring down cost significantly," the official said.

The ISRO previously conducted the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) through the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in January 2007. The space agency is also planning to conduct the first experimental launch of a 42.4m-tall three-staged GSLV Mk III vehicle during 2012.

Image: ISRO’s RLV-TD will be used as a flying test-bed for evaluating a range of technologies, including hypersonic flight and powered cruise flight. Photo: ISRO