Isro successfully conducts second landing test of reusable launch vehicle Pushpak

Ajay0 · Apr 12, 2024

The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully conducted the second landing test of the Reusable Launch Vehicle, Pushpak.

Pushpak was successfully tested on 22 March 2024, and its performance was found to be "excellent and precise".

Watch: India's 21st Century Pushpak 'Viman' Successfully Launched

"The winged vehicle, called Pushpak, was lifted by an Indian Airforce Chinook helicopter, and was released from 4.5 km altitude. After release at distance of 4km from the runway, Pushpak autonomously approached the runway along with cross range corrections. It landed precisely on the runway and came to a halt using its brake parachute, landing gear brakes and nose wheel steering system," it said in a statement.

The experiment was the third flight of Pushpak, part of a test of its robotic landing ability in more complicated circumstances. It is expected to take many more years to deploy Pushpak operationally

"The Pushpak launch vehicle is India's bold attempt to make access to space most affordable," Mr Somanath had earlier asserted.

"It is India's futuristic Reusable Launch Vehicle, where the most expensive part, the upper stage, which houses all the expensive electronics, is made reusable by bringing it back safely back to Earth. Later, it could even do refuelling of in-orbit satellites or retrieving satellites from orbit for refurbishment. India seeks to minimise space debris and Pushpak is one step towards that as well," he had said.

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Ajay0 · Jun 27, 2024

Pushpak was tested a third time successfully in more challenging and demanding conditions .

Third, final landing of Pushpak gives wings to ISRO

At 7.10 am, the winged vehicle successfully conducted the third and final Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Landing Experiment (LEX). The RLV LEX-03 mission demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of the RLV under more challenging release and severe wind conditions. The vehicle, Pushpak, was released from an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter at an altitude of 4.5 km.

Pushpak autonomously executed cross-range correction manoeuvres, approached the runway, and performed a precise horizontal landing at the runway centreline.

“With the objectives of RLV-LEX accomplished, ISRO embarks into RLV-ORV, the orbital reusable vehicle,” ISRO posted on X.

Because of Pushpak’s low lift-to-drag ratio aerodynamic configuration, the landing velocity exceeded 320 kmph, compared to 260 kmph for a commercial aircraft and 280 kmph for a fighter jet.

VSSC Director S Unnikrishnan Nair said this consistent success bolsters ISRO’s confidence in critical technologies necessary for future orbital reentry missions. It simulated the approach and landing interface and high-speed landing conditions for a vehicle returning from space.
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