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- RLV-TD is India’s first uncrewed flying testbed developed for the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstration Programme. It is a scaled down prototype of an eventual two-stage-to-orbit reusable launch vehicle.
RLV-TD
- It is a prototype vehicle developed to achieve the Two-Stage To Orbit (TSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV).
- Indian Space Research Organisation’s(ISRO) handles the RLV-TD programme. The Technology Demonstration Programme consists of the development of a hypersonic rocket with air-breathing engines and the reusable launch vehicle
- The first test-flight took place on 23rd May 2016 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh
- RLV will not be used in the Gaganyaan mission. A Space Capsule will be used in Gaganyaan Mission.
- RLV-TD is a winged body aerospace vehicle that operates in hypersonic flight regime. It is capable of launching satellites into orbit around earth and then re-enter the atmosphere
- It has been configured to act as a flying testbed to evaluate various technologies, including hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight.
