VSSC director: ISRO gains the technology it aims for with RLV-TD launch

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Soon after the launch of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s Re-usable Satellite Launch Vehicle- Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) from Sriharikota on Monday at 7 am, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) director K Sivan termed it as a nice flight that effectively demonstrated the space shuttle’s hypersonic flight at five times the speed of sound, its re-entry into the atmosphere and its descent as the vehicle breaks down to splash it into the sea.
“Through this nice and successful flight of RLV-TD with its totally indigenous design, we got the space technology that we aimed for. It demonstrated the success of hypersonic flight, re-entry aero thermodynamics, autonomous mission management and structures for thermal protection,” Dr Sivan told TOI. The data from this mission will be made use of for the next advanced RLV launch, he said.
Since the vehicle was not designed for recovery plans, even if there is a last minute plan to recover the vehicle parts from the sea it would not be possible without prior arrangements, he said. Nearly 80% of the rocket cost is towards engines and structure. If the engines and the structure can be recovered and re-used, there could be substantial reduction in cost to launch payloads in space.
With this baby step, further steps will be tests on RLV with Air breathing propulsion system (ABPS) which uses atmospheric air as oxidiser for combustion with vehicle fuel to propel the rocket and it can bring down space travel cost by minimum one tenth, he said. Current RLV-TD incurs a project cost of Rs 95 crore.
“RLV-TD is a really complex mission of hybrid technology of aircraft with launch vehicle. It involved understanding the winged space shuttle’s hypersonic speed to low speed, as that of aircraft landing. Every system in this mission is new in terms of design, technology and implementation. It had no major anomaly,” ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion System’s Centre (LPSC) director S Somnath told TOI.
Further, he said, “we are looking at how this technology can be scaled up for launch of Advanced RLV. This success boosts our confidence for a full-fledged real launch and we are exploring the future possibilities of real landing with wheels as in an aircraft for safe landing. We have to maintain low profile in terms of costs incurred for space missions, essentially our attempt is to test the technology indigenously”.
Now, the RLV-TD team of scientists and engineers from ISRO centres here are back in Thiruvananthapuram. They said that are thrilled by the success of this indigenous space mission.
RLV-TD was launched from Sriharikota launch pad by boosting it to hypersonic speed of five times the speed of sound (Mach 5) using solid booster of 9 ton propellant loading. Following separation from the booster, the space vehicle soared to a height of 65 km, then it descents through the dense atmosphere before finally gliding as the vehicle breaks down to splash into the Ocean waters of Bay of Bengal.