
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.
Eastern mafia Mukhtar Ansari, who was lodged in Banda jail for about two and a half years, died o
World Ayurveda Congress 2022: WHO prepares Allopathy-Ayurveda module, $30 billion global market
Soon two of the world's biggest medical clinics will be seen simultaneously treating patients on
After the spectacular victory of the Mahayuti in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, there i
A Chinese doctor was murdered after entering his clinic in Karachi, Pakistan on Wednesday evening
Budget is against poor, favours corporates: Chidambaram
New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram Satu
The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday introduced the Immigration and Foreigners Bill in the Lok Sabh
MP Exit Polls 2023: Elections for 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh have been completed on 17th Novembe
Jammu and Kashmir's banned organization Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Mal
The second wave of Corona affected Maharashtra the most. Now the situation is slowly getting bett
A boat capsized on the Indus river in Pakistan on Monday. There were about 90 people on board. So