
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 launch date of JioPhone Next has been revealed by Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Pichai said that
Labourers vandalise DLF office in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, March 18 (IANS) Angry over the death of a colleague, a number of labourers on Wednesda
President confers Bharat Ratna on Malviya
New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee on
Heavy rain brought troubles in Indore on Tuesday night. There was water logging in many places in
On Wednesday, 14 thousand 504 active cases were reduced in the country. It has decreased by two l
The power struggle started in the new Shahbaz government in Pakistan, which came to power after t
The last match of the five-Test series between India and England will start today at the Edgbasto
Once again the talk of targeting a Hindu temple in Pakistan has come to the fore. Idols of deitie
After the Doda district of the Jammu division, an encounter started in the Keran sector of Kupwar
China-US tension: What will be India's role in South China Sea?
Amid increasing tension between the US and China, the US has stepped up its activities in the Sou