DocM Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 They just keep ticking off the milestones, this one the Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) http://www.aviationweek.com/space/india-test-launch-reusable-launch-vehicle India To Test Launch Reusable Launch Vehicle India is preparing to carry out an experimental flight of its reusable launch vehicle, a senior space scientist says. Preparations are currently underway to conduct the launch of [the] Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), either by the end of July or in the beginning of August, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientist M. Chandradathan says. The exact launch date will be announced soon, he says. The RLV-TD, a winged body vehicle weighing 1.5 tons, will be lifted to a height of 70 km (43 mi.) using a solid booster that will propel it at five times the speed of sound. The unmanned, suborbital mission, one of ISROs prestigious space programs, will lift off from the spaceport in Sriharikota in south India and return to Earth after the flight. It will be an experimental spaceplane, Chandradathan explains. The module will be like a small, [single-seat] aircraft. The test flight will demonstrate the vehicles hypersonic aerodynamics characteristics, avionics system, thermal protection system, control system and mission management system. During the trial flight, scientists will test the vehicles ability to re-enter the atmosphere and land in the sea. The program, started by ISRO a couple of years ago, has reached its first final stage, Chandradathan says. The tests are all part of ISROs human in space program mission. The plan is to attain this goal in the next 10 years. The RLV-TDs experimental launch could mark a major step for India toward reducing the cost of access to space. A reusable, winged vehicle could attain low-cost, reliable, on-demand space access compared to expendable launch vehicles. > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choto Cheeta Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 ISRO Went to Mars orbit and still is with less than the budget of Movie Gravity.. Yes, we all know that, but their main, more powerful cryogenic rocket engine motor of GSLV is yet to taste the success of reliability.. I am no rocket scientist but what I read from the news, for these type of heavy lifting, their own indigenous cryogenic motor is still not ready.. More development is required for that to actually put this full size orbital into lower of higher orbit !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggendrop Veteran Posted June 11, 2015 Veteran Share Posted June 11, 2015 There have been a lot of claims by a lot of countries and a lot of corporations as of late. I have always been a fan of dreaming of the future but...the time has come that visions have to be realistic and you have to fly "metal" to have any semblance of credibility. Maybe it's just that a few of us have seen the "young guns" in the world back up what they say with real flights...maybe we should hold others accountable for their "fancy visions" as even a child can give the same ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 > More development is required for that to actually put this full size orbital into lower of higher orbit !! GSLV III uses solid boosters, a hypergolic (hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide) core stage, and a hypergolic second stage - all pretty simple and reliable. These were successfully tested in December 2014 in the suborbital test of India's crew capsule. The C25 upper stage is what uses the CE-20 cryogenic engine, which is a KISS gas generator design. It sucessfully completed a 635 second test fire in April. As of now it looks like they're well on their way with it. A full-up launch with the C25 cryogenic upper stage and a commsat is slated for 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choto Cheeta Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 They use this PSLV thing much more often than GSLV and if local media report is anything to by, then that is said to be due to unreliability of GSLV and more specific to that cryogenic engine.. In recent years, after reduction of International sanctions of technology transfer (since that 1998 nuke issue), ISRO made a lot of ground, hopefully, we would be able to see GSLV matching the launch records of PSLV too.. Regarding this mission, a lot is dependent on how the economy shapes up in recent years.. ISRO needs budget, man flight is much more complex and risky than robots and satellites.. We Indians are really good at patch up and get things work in any manner possible. Which wont be the case in manned mission. Hopefully ISRO will continue to get the budget needed for such thing, but being a country with so many poor, ISRO needs to put up their agenda for benefiting of the people, like communication, weather, and mapping satellite.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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