What is the news?

• The ISRO has conducted the Pushpak Reusable Landing Vehicle (RLV) LEX 02 landing experiment at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga. It was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter and released from an altitude of 4.5 km.
• This experiment marks a significant milestone in ISRO’s pursuit of reusable space technology.

About Pushpak Reusable Landing Vehicle (RLV)

• The Pushpak RLV is a winged vehicle, equipped with aerodynamic surfaces that enable controlled flight during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
• The RLV is designed to autonomously land on a designated runway after completing its mission in space, thereby demonstrating India’s capability in autonomous space vehicle landing.
• It is equipped with sophisticated navigation, control, and landing gear systems that allow it to autonomously navigate and land on a predefined runway.

Key Features

1. The RLV is a space plane with a low lift-to-drag ratio, requiring an approach at high glide angles that necessitates landing at high velocities of 350 km/h.
2. This design allows it to transport payloads to Low Earth orbits and return to Earth for future use.

Future Prospects

• Iterative Testing: ISRO conducts a series of experiments, such as the RLV LEX 02 landing experiment, to test and validate the performance of the RLV in various scenarios.
• Orbital Re-entry Missions: The successful demonstration of the Pushpak RLV’s capabilities paves the way for future orbital re-entry missions, where reusable vehicles can be deployed for various scientific and commercial purposes.

PYQ:

2018: With reference to India’s satellite launch vehicles, consider the following statements:

1. PSLVs launch the satellites useful for Earth resources monitoring whereas GSLVs are designed mainly to launch communication satellites.
2. Satellites launched by PSLV appear to remain permanently fixed in the same position in the sky, as viewed from a particular location on Earth.
3. GSLV Mk III is a four-stage launch l vehicle with the first and third stages l using solid rocket motors; and the second and fourth stages using liquid rocket engines.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 2
4. 3 only

Practice MCQ:

Consider the following statements about the ‘Pushpak’ Reusable Landing Vehicle (RLV):

1. It is a winged vehicle.
2. It can transport payloads to Low Earth orbits and return to Earth with the help of a parachute.

Which of the given statements are correct?

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

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