ISRO marks a milestone in development of reusable launch vehicle; Pushpak launched successfully 

BENGALURU: The landing experiment of ISRO's Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Pushpak has been successful. The experiment was at Challakere in Karnataka around 7 am. The winged vehicle now called Pushpak was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter and released from an altitude of 4.5 km, 4 km away from the runway. The spacecraft steered itself and landed. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) marked a milestone in the development of reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology by successfully launching Pushpak.

It was the third landing mission of RLV. Previous successful experiments were conducted in 2016 and last April. ISRO authorities said that a low-cost reusable launching vehicle has been developed as part of space missions.

RLV-LEX-02 Experiment:
🇮🇳ISRO nails it again!🎯

Pushpak (RLV-TD), the winged vehicle, landed autonomously with precision on the runway after being released from an off-nominal position.

🚁@IAF_MCC pic.twitter.com/IHNoSOUdRx

— ISRO (@isro) March 22, 2024

‘Pushpak was built by India to carry out the space mission in the best possible way. This spacecraft is part of future Indian space missions. The spacecraft also has state-of-the-art technology for safe return to Earth,' clarified ISRO Chairman S Somnath.

This is a major step forward in ISRO's efforts to develop reusable launch vehicle technology. ISRO again tested the efficiency of indigenously developed technologies including propulsion systems, control systems and landing gear through this experiment.

The experiment mission was organized by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Liquid Propulsion System Center and ISRO Inertial Systems Unit. Various agencies, including the Air Force, also supported the mission. S Somnath congratulated the team for leading the mission.