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.
Rajasthan Crime News: Gang war was seen in broad daylight in Nagaur court premises in Rajasthan.
AP Inter Supplementary Results 2023: Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh (BIEAP) has
H1N1 cases rise in Uttar Pradesh; nurse infected
Lucknow, Feb 27 (IANS) With 33 new swine flu cases coming to light since Thursday, the total nu
Trade unions, employees' unions staged a demonstration
On Friday, protests were held in all departments against the call of the central trade unions and
Today is the 15th day of the ongoing vaccination program against Corona. Under this, the first do
The government is going to give big relief to BPL families in Haryana. The coalition government w
After Chandigarh, now a pub in Cyber City Gurugram has been attacked. A Human Pub in Sector
Moderate tremors of earthquake were felt in southern Iran on Wednesday. The European-Mediterranea
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a cold wave in several parts of Himachal
Corona virus cases are increasing every day in India and every day it is making a record of most
