RLV Technology Demonstration Programme: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:50, 8 June 2015

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===Scaled-down tests===

In January 2012, ISRO announced that a scaled prototype, called '''Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator''' ('''RLV-TD'''), was approved to be built and tested.<ref name="FinalTouches2015"/>{{cite news |url=http://idrw.org/indias-futuristic-unmanned-space-shuttle-getting-final-touches/ |title=India’s Futuristic Unmanned Space Shuttle Getting Final Touches |work=EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE |publisher=Indian Defence Research Wing |date=20 May 2015 |accessdate=2015-05-20 }}</ref> The aerodynamics characterization of the RLV-TD prototype was done by [[National Aerospace Laboratories]] in India. The unmanned scaled-down prototype has a diameter of 0.56 m and a length of 10 m.<ref name="Presentation"/> The RLV-TD is in the last stages of construction by a Hyderabad-based private company called CIM Technologies.

By May 2015, engineers at the [[Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre]] (VSSC) in [[Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station]] were installing thermal tiles on the outer surface of the 'RLV-TD', so it can withstand the intense heat during [[Atmospheric entry|atmospheric reentry]].<ref name="FinalTouches2015"/> This prototype weighs around 1.5 tonnes and would fly up to an altitude of 70 km.<ref name="FinalTouches2015"/> ISRO has tentatively slated the prototype's test flight from the first launchpad of [[Satish Dhawan Space Centre]] for July 2015.<ref name="Presentation">{{cite web |url=http://www.aame.in/2011/08/india-space-shuttle-reusable-launch.html |title=Wednesday, August 03, 2011India's Space Shuttle [Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)] program |work=AA Me, IN |date=2011 |accessdate=2014-10-22 }}</ref><ref name="FinalTouches2015"/> The RLV-TD will be mounted on top of a rocket and launched beyond the atmosphere, after which the RLV-TD will separate and reenter the atmosphere while traveling through the hypersonic regime.<ref name="Brahmand 2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.brahmand.com/news/Reusable-Launch-Vehicles-%EF%BF%BD-The-future-of-space-missions/5595/3/15.html |title=Reusable Launch Vehicles |work=Brahmand.com |date=November 25, 2010 |accessdate=2014-10-22 }}</ref> The rocket is expendable while the RLV would glide back to Earth and fall in Bay of Bengal as there are no airstrips that are 5 km long in India that could be used to land such aircraft. ISRO has made detailed reports to construct an airstrip greater than 4 km long in the [[Sriharikota]] island and it will be built in near future. <ref name="Indian Express">{{cite web |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/ISRO-Gears-up-for-6-Major-Missions-This-Year/2015/05/30/article2839810.ece|title=ISRO Gears up for 6 Major Missions This Year|work=Express News Service |date=30 May 2015}}</ref>

==See also==