ISRO achieves major milestone in Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology with Pushpak
Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has achieved another milestone in the development of Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) technology on Friday. As per reports given by ISRO, the second experiment in the series, codenamed RLV LEX-02, was conducted successfully at the Aeronautical Test Rand (ATR) in Karnataka’s Chitradurga on Friday morning.
The mission involved Pushpak (RVL-TD), a winged re-entry vehicle, which was released from an Indian Airforce Chinook helicopter at an altitude of 4.5 kilometers. Following its release, Pushpak autonomously performed maneuvers and landed on the runway.
Following the successful landing, ISRO in a press release stated, “This successful landing experiment demonstrates ISRO’s advancements in RLV technology, particularly in autonomous navigation and control.”
“This mission successfully stimulated the approach and high-speed landing conditions of RLV returning from space. With this second mission, ISRO has re-validated the indigenously developed technologies in the areas of navigation, control systems, landing gear and deceleration systems essential for performing a high-speed autonomous landing of a space-returning vehicle,” the press release read.
“The winged body and all flight systems used in RLV-LEX-01 were reused in the RLV-LEX-02 mission after due certification or clearances. Hence reuse capability of flight hardware and flight systems is also demonstrated in this mission. Based on the observations from the RLV-LEX-01, the airframe structure and landing gear were strengthened to tolerate higher landing loads,” the release further read.
In the press release, ISRO further mentioned, “The mission was accomplished by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) along with the Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC) and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU). Collaboration from various agencies including IAF, ADE, ADRDE and CEMILAC contributed to the success of this mission.”
The RLV program aims to develop a cost-effective and reusable launch vehicle system for future space missions.
RLV-LEX-02 Experiment:
🇮🇳ISRO nails it again!🎯Pushpak (RLV-TD), the winged vehicle, landed autonomously with precision on the runway after being released from an off-nominal position.
🚁@IAF_MCC pic.twitter.com/IHNoSOUdRx
— ISRO (@isro) March 22, 2024
Ms Kalinga