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Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) is one of the most technologically challenging endeavors of ISRO towards developing essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle to enable low cost access to space.
Unlike the American space shuttle or X-37B space plane that perform most of their mission in orbit, the Indian RLV is designed to provide a reusable ‘upper stage’, to assist bringing satellites to orbit. Once completing its mission the launcher will be able to return to the atmosphere and land, refurbished for reuse on new missions.
Isro successfully conducted a flight test of the RLV-RD in 2016. (Photo: Isro)
During ‘Bengaluru Space Expo 2022’ the ISRO Chairman had said that it takes about $10,000-15,000 to put a 1kg payload into orbit. ISRO will bring it down to $5000 or $1000 per kg.
The RLV-TD programme is ISRO’S step towards realising a two-stage to orbit (TSTO) reusable launch vehicle. An operational version would take 10-15 years to complete.
Configuration
The configuration of RLV-TD is similar to that of an aircraft and combines the complexity of both launch vehicles and aircraft. The winged RLV-TD has been configured to act as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies, namely, hypersonic flight, autonomous landing and powered cruise flight. In future, this vehicle will be scaled up to become the first stage of India’s reusable two stage orbital launch vehicle.
RLV-TD consists of a fuselage (body), a nose cap, double delta wings and twin vertical tails. It also features symmetrically placed active control surfaces called Elevons and Rudder. This technology demonstrator was boosted to Mach no: 5 by a conventional solid booster (HS9) designed for low burn rate. The selection of materials like special alloys, composites and insulation materials for developing an RLV-TD and the crafting of its parts is very complex and demands highly skilled manpower. Many high technology machinery and test equipment were utilised for building this vehicle.
Objectives of RLV-TD:
●Hypersonic aero thermodynamic characterisation of wing body
●Evaluation of autonomous Navigation, Guidance and Control (NGC) schemes
●Integrated flight management
●Thermal Protection System Evaluation
Maiden trial of RLV-TD
RLV-TD was successfully flight tested on May 23, 2016 from SDSC SHAR Sriharikota validating the critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance & control, reusable thermal protection system and re-entry mission management.
In this experimental mission, 6.7 m’ (22 ft) long vehicle was launched on top of an HS9 solid rocket booster which lifted RLV-TD off from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at 07:00 hr IST. After a successful flight of 91.1 second, HS9 burn out occurred, following which both HS9 and RLV-TD mounted on its top coasted to a height of about 56 km. At that height, RLV-TD separated from HS9 booster and further ascended to a height of about 65 km.
From that peak altitude of 65 km, RLV-TD began its descent followed by atmospheric re-entry at around Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound). The vehicle’s Navigation, Guidance and Control system accurately steered the vehicle during this phase for safe descent. After successfully surviving a high temperatures of re-entry with the help of its Thermal Protection System (TPS), RLV-TD successfully glided down to the defined landing spot over Bay of Bengal, at a distance of about 450 km from Sriharikota, thereby fulfilling its mission objectives. The vehicle was successfully tracked during its flight from ground stations at Sriharikota and a shipborne terminal. Total flight duration from launch to landing of this mission of the delta winged RLV-TD, lasted for about 770 seconds.
RLV landing experiment (LEX)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to carry out the first landing demonstration of its Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Saturday. The landing demonstration will involve a “landing experiment (LEX)” in which the RLV will be carried using a helicopter to an altitude of 3-5 km and released at approximately 4-5 km from the runway with a horizontal velocity.
After the release, the RLV glides and navigates toward the runway, and carries out a conventional autonomous landing. This is planned in a defence airfield near Chitradurga in Karnataka.
ISRO Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) | LEX trial on 28th January –
Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) is one of the most technologically challenging endeavors of ISRO towards developing essential technologies for a fully reusable launc…
indiandefenseanalysis.com
Isro to test landing of its Reusable Launch Vehicle: All you need to know
RLV is Isro's attempt at developing essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle to enable low-cost access to space.
