India on Monday successfully launched the first technology demonstrator of indigenously made Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), capable of launching satellites into orbit around earth and reentering the atmosphere, from Sriharikota.
RLV-TD, being dubbed as India’s own space shuttle, getting ready for transportation to Sriharikota. Photo courtesy: ISRO
RLV-TD being transported to India’s space port at Sriharikota on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh. Photo courtesy: ISRO
Reusable Launch Vehicle at the launch pad in Sriharikota. Photo courtesy: ISRO
A booster rocket with the RLV-TD lifted up at 7 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Photo courtesy: ISRO
Known as hypersonic flight experiment, it was a 10-minute mission from liftoff to splashdown. Photo courtesy: ISRO
The total flight duration of the 6.5-metre long 'aeroplane'-like structure from launch to landing lasted about 770 seconds. Photo courtesy: ISRO
This successful experiment of ISRO is only a very preliminary step towards developing reusable launch vehicles. Photo: V. Ganesan
After the launch, M.C. Dathan, former director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, said: "The mission was successful. And the RLV-TD is healthy and floating on the sea." . Photo: V. Ganesan