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.
Taking an important decision, the Union Health Ministry has included Coronary Stents in the list
Russia-Ukraine war: Putin said - US dominance is over; British PM Johnson suddenly arrived in Kyiv
Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a jibe at America, saying that its dominance in the wo
Yadav, Bhushan were ready to quit but got sacked: AAP leader
Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were ready to quit from
The truth cannot be hidden for long. No matter how much Turkey and China, which are facing allega
new Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is interacting with all sarpanches of the country through
Looking at the way director Anil Sharma's film 'Gadar 2' has done business at the box office in t
Rohit Sharma can make a special record in the second ODI between India and West Indies to be play
Elon Musk, the world's richest person and owner of companies like Tesla and SpaceX, is not only a
Like Sri Lanka, our neighboring country Pakistan is also going through a period of serious econom
Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya are the famous stars of South Indian cinema. Both were on
