ISRO Carries Out Successful Landing Of Reusable Space Launch Vehicle 'Pushpak'
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Friday carried out the successful landing of its reusable launch vehicle technology.
The RLV LEX-02 landing experiment was carried out at the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga, in Karnataka.
RLV LEX-02 landing??
Pushpak, a winged rocket that was dropped from an Air Force helicopter landed on a runway in Karnataka this morning, marking a major milestone in the country's attempt to enter the reusable rocket segment.
Pushpak was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter and was released from 4.5 km altitude. After release at a distance of 4 km from the runway, Pushpak autonomously approached the runway along with cross-range corrections. It landed precisely on the runway and came to a halt using its brake parachute, landing gear brakes and nose wheel steering system, ISRO said.
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).
Second successful landing of RLV
This was the second successful landing of the indigenous reusable launch vehicle.
After the RLV-LEX-01 mission was accomplished last year, RLV-LEX-02 demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of RLV from off-nominal initial conditions at release from the helicopter.
"The RLV was made to undertake more difficult maneuvers with dispersions, correct both cross-range and downrange and land on the runway in a fully autonomous mode," it said.
Boost for India's space capabilities
It added that this mission successfully simulated 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 space agency said.
The winged body and all flight systems used in RLV-LEX-01 were reused in the RLV-LEX-02 mission after due certification/ clearances. Hence, reuse capability of flight hardware and flight systems is also demonstrated in this mission, ISRO said.
Based on the observation from RLV-LEX-01, the airframe structure and landing gear were strengthened to tolerate higher landing loads, it said.
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