ISRO chief says RLV landing demo this weekend

At 8th India International Science Festival, ISRO chairman S. Somanath spoke about space agency’s missions in 2023.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to carry out the first landing demonstration of its Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) - Landing Experiment (LEX) Saturday, its chairperson S. Somanath has said.

On the sidelines of the 8th India International Science Festival in Bhopal, Somnath said the demonstration will continue as planned provided climate and weather conditions are suitable.

An RLV is a launch vehicle that is designed to return to the Earth substantially intact and could, therefore, be reused.

ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) Programme is a series of technology demonstration missions, seen as the first step towards realising a two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) fully reusable vehicle. A TSTO, or a two-stage rocket, is a spacecraft in which two distinct stages provide propulsion consecutively in order to achieve orbital velocity.

This is the first time ISRO is conducting a landing demonstration for its RLV-TD Programme.