ISRO tested Reusable Launch Vehicle
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ISRO tested Reusable Launch Vehicle
Subject: Science and technology
Section: Space technology
Concept:
- ISRO successfully carried out the landing experiment of the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) programme at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, Karnataka.
About Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD):
- The configuration of RLV-TD is similar to that of an aircraft and combines the complexity of both launch vehicles and aircraft.
- The winged RLV-TD has been configured to act as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies, namely, hypersonic flight, autonomous landing and powered cruise flight.
- In future, this vehicle will be scaled up to become the first stage of India’s reusable two stage orbital launch vehicle.
- Components:
- RLV-TD consists of a fuselage (body), a nose cap, double delta wings and twin vertical tails.
- It also features symmetrically placed active control surfaces called Elevons and Rudder.
- This technology demonstrator was boosted to Mach no: 5 by a conventional solid booster (HS9) designed for low burn rate.
- Objectives of RLV-TD:
- Hypersonic aero thermodynamic characterisation of wing body
- Evaluation of autonomous Navigation, Guidance and Control (NGC) schemes
- Integrated flight management
- Thermal Protection System Evaluation
- Significance
- In a first in the world, a winged body has been carried to an altitude of 4.5 km by helicopter and released for carrying an autonomous landing on a runway.
Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) Facility:
- Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) is an outdoor testing and evaluation facility set up by DRDO exclusively for unmanned and manned aircraft.
- The ATR is under the command of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE).
- ATR is located at Varavoo Kaval in Challakere Taluk of Chitradurga district
- ATR, Chitradurga has a Range Control Centre (RCC) with air traffic display system. It is equipped with a mission video distribution and display system. It has a Radar Centre which houses primary and secondary surveillance radars.