
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) India will conduct a test flight of a reusable launch vehicle by the second quarter of this year to reduce the cost of satellite launches, union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister of state for department of space said the rocket's 1.5-tonne technology demonstrator would be lofted to a height of 70 km using solid booster to attain five times the speed of sound.
"The reusable launch vehicle's technology demonstrator (RLV-TD) will descend by gliding and splashing down into the sea. The test flight will demonstrate the hypersonic aerodynamics characteristics, avionics system, thermal protection system, control system and mission management," Singh told the lawmakers.
The state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has taken steps to develop the next generation launch vehicle GSLV MkIII for placing four-tonne class communication satellites into geo-synchronous transfer orbit and bring down the cost of satellite launches.
"Developing reusable rockets is a challenge, as it involves many cutting-edge technologies. The magnitude of cost reduction depends on the development and realisation of fully reusable launch vehicle and its degree of reusability," Singh added.
The space agency had conducted the maiden test flight of GSLV MkIII on December 18, 2014 with a crew module from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 90 km northeast of Chennai.
Five minutes after the launch, the heavy rocket ejected the 3.7-tonne crew module at a height of 126 km for its re-entry into the earth's atmosphere and descent in the Bay of Bengal near Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Lok Janshakti Party President Chirag Paswan has recently spoken about BJP MP from Mandi constitue
Sourav Ganguly hospitalized in Kolkata after deteriorating health
Sourav Ganguly, president of BCCI and former captain of the Indian cricket team, has been admitte
Rohtak's Deepak Hooda, playing for Lucknow Supergiants in IPL 2022, was instrumental in the team'
No support from AIUDF, AAMSU is required for redesigning district boundaries: Assam CM
There has been a continuous protest by political parties and organizations against the Assam gove
Risk of loan default on Pakistan deepens, Fitch downgrades rating; issued this warning
Another bad news for the beleaguered Pakistani economy. After a sharp decline in foreign exchange
We had come to see our stars. We had bought tickets for the ceremony but could not enter the stad
UN chief and Biden also reacted, claims Poland; Russia fired missiles in its territory
Amidst the Russia-Ukraine war, Poland said on Tuesday that two Moscow-made missiles had been fire
Voting is going to be held on April 17 for the fifth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections.
Speaking on the depreciation of the rupee, State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Khara said that th
IPL 2020: Kedar Jadhav's name is a very embarrassing record, getting fiercely criticized
Chennai Super Kings batsman Kedar Jadhav remains a victim of criticism due to his innings played