ISRO has achieved a major milestone in the area of
Reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology, through the RLV LEX-02 landing
experiment, the second of the series, conducted at Aeronautical Test Range
(ATR), Chitradurga in Karnataka on 22 March 2024 at 7:10 hrs IST.
After the RLV-LEX-01 mission was accomplished last
year, RLV-LEX-02 demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of RLV from
off-nominal initial conditions at release from a helicopter. The RLV was made
to undertake more difficult manoeuvres with dispersions, correct both cross range
and downrange and land on the runway in a fully autonomous mode. The winged
vehicle, called Pushpak, was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter
and was released from 4.5 km altitude. After release at a distance of 4 km 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.
This mission successfully simulated the approach and
high speed landing conditions of RLV returning from space. With this second
mission, ISRO has revalidated the indigenously developed technologies in the
areas of navigation, control systems, landing gear and deceleration systems
essential for performing a high speed autonomous landing of a space-returning
vehicle. The winged body and all flight systems used in RLV-LEX-01 were reused
in the RLV-LEX-02 mission after due certification/clearances. Hence reuse
capability of flight hardware and flight systems was also demonstrated in this
mission. Based on the observations from RLV-LEX-01, the airframe structure and
landing gear were strengthened to tolerate higher landing loads.
The mission was accomplished by Vikram Sarabhai
Space Centre (VSSC) along with the Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC) and
the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU). Collaboration from various agencies
including IAF, ADE, ADRDE and CEMILAC contributed to the success of this
mission. Mr. S Somanath, Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DOS, congratulated the team
for the flawless execution of this complex mission. On the success of the
landing experiment, Director VSSC Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair mentioned that through
this repeated success, ISRO could master the terminal phase manouvering,
landing and energy management in a fully autonomous mode, which is a critical
step towards the future Orbital Re-entry missions.
The team was
guided by Mr. Sunil P, Programme Director, Advanced Technology and Systems
Programme, VSSC. Mr. J Muthupandian, Project Director, RLV was the Mission
Director and Mr. B Karthik, Deputy Project Director, RLV was the Vehicle
Director for this mission.
