Times of India

ISRO set to test reusable space vehicle

December 12, 2006

MUMBAI: Come January, and India's space programme will soar into a new hi-tech era creating history.

Between January 10 and 15, 2007, the highly-proven four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will thunder off the launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, carrying with it three satellites.

The mission is being viewed with considerable interest by international space agencies because India will evaluate the reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology for the first time.

In an interview with Times of India on Saturday, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair, said the three satellites to be carried by the rocket are the indigenous Cartosat-2, to be used for mapping purposes, a space capsule recovery experiment (SRE) and a 50 kilogram Indonesian satellite called Lapan.

The SRE mission is important because the capsule will be placed in orbit at an altitude of 625 km and recovered after sometime.

This will allow Indian Space Research Organisation to study the reusable launch vehicle technology especially in the critical area of re-entry when the capsule will experience searing temperatures.
 

This flight is expected to provide valuable input to the space agency in designing a reusable launch vehicle that will take off like a rocket, place a satellite in orbit and land back on a runway like an aircraft.

In short it will be an Indian space shuttle incorporating several improvements. The main advantage of a reusable launch vehicle over the current expendable rockets is that the launch cost is considerably cheaper.

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