Isro's space shuttle' set for historic flight

Hyderabad: If all goes to plan, India’s highly-awaited Reusable Launch Vehicle — Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Monday at 7 am.

The RLV-TD is a scaled prototype of the AVATAR, or the Aerobic Vehicle for Transatmospheric Hypersonic Aerospace Reusable Launch Vehicle, and it can return to Earth after performing its mission — saving 10 times the money normally used for a space mission.

Isro is also creating history as this is the first time they are sending a winged body into Space, which will come back to Earth and land.

But Dr Sivan, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said once the mission is complete on Monday, the vehicle will not be recovered. Instead, continuous telemetry data will be accessed and accordingly, used.

The craft has been configured to act as a flying test bed to evaluate  hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air-breathing propulsion.

ISRO is very excited, says chief

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Isro chairman Kiran Kumar

Q. What is this RLV?

We intend to go through a series of technology demonstration exercises, first one of it, what we call HEX-01, that is a hypersonic experiment. It is called a winged body. We are designing for the first time a winged body, which will come back from Space.

Q. Why is India indulging in this when the whole world has retired space shuttle technology?

Our objective is to lower cost of access to space. We still believe that we have a very good opportunity to go through with this and reduce costs.

What’s it for?

Q. Essentially you will be launching from Sriharikota, and the RLV will land in the Bay of Bengal?

Yes, but eventually, the objective will be this winged body will come and land on the Sriharikota island.