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 audience is eagerly waiting for the web series 'Mirzapur 3'. Be it Kaalin Bhaiya (Pankaj Trip
Mumbai Police has arrested the sixth accused in the firing case at Salman Khan's house. He is a m
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said that the riots in the national capital in 2020 were pre-plan
Ajmer Train Conspiracy After Kanpur in UP, now a case of conspiracy to overturn a train has come
Amid the ongoing tussle over Tej Pratap Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's hou
Given the verdict in the Ankita Bhandari murder case in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, the district poli
The Saudi Arabian government has announced a big relief to the Indians coming to their country. T
The decision on the India-US trade agreement now rests with the US, as the Indian government has
India-Canada Row: 'Stop hate speech and attacks on places of worship' India scolds Canada in UN
India-Canada Row: India has recommended Canada stop attacks on places of worship and curb hate sp
On the one hand, the number of medical colleges in the country is increasing rapidly, while healt
