
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.
New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) It will be a sunny and warm Thursday in the national capital, the Met
A controversy erupted on Sunday after the ICC did not invite Pakistan Cricket Board officials on
Lalu Yadav took a dig at the arrangement of the migrant laborers to return to Bihar, said ...
Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accusing Bihar's migrant labore
The wires of Vijay Yadav, the shooter who gunned down the infamous Sanjeev Jeeva, are being linke
Sonakshi Sinha married her boyfriend Zaheer Iqbal in June this year. The registered marriage took
The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) can start on 22 March. The opening match of I
Be on time or be marked absent, Rajasthan employees told
Jaipur, March 24 (IANS) The Rajasthan government has asked all its employees to report on duty o
The Taliban, which is ruling Afghanistan, made an important announcement on Monday. According to
Realme GT 5G smartphone specifications and price leaked, this phone will compete
Chinese mobile phone company Realme is ready to launch its Realme GT 5G smartphone. It has alread
First Gautam and then Gopal, how Kejriwal got into double trouble in Gujarat
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is aggressively campaigning for the Gujarat Assembly elections,