
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.
The BJP has called a meeting of its leaders on the issue of the inclusion of non-local voters in
In the latest episode of the controversial reality show Bigg Boss 18, Gunaratna Sadavarte has don
Mark Zuckerberg: Meta Launches NFT Support in 100 Countries on Instagram
Facebook's parent company Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that the company is going to introduc
Bihar Board 10th Exam 2022: Bihar Board has started class X board examinations from today, Februa
An example of how heavy playing with ocean waves can be was seen on a beach in Oman. Three people
Continuing tensions between India and China increased once again. The armies of both countries fi
Relaxation in age limit for Corona vaccine, CM Kejriwal wrote a letter to PM Modi demanding
New Delhi: Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra
Tiger 3 Message Video Released: Salman Khan is ready to return to the spy universe with the film
Donald Trump: Trump wants ownership rights over Gaza, said- if needed we will send our army too
US President Donald Trump has given a big statement saying that he wants America to take ownershi
Amazon Deal On Phone: Amazon has taken out a deal on the iQOO Z6 Lite 5G phone, which has other o