The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has completed an autonomous test landing of the RLV LEX reusable launch vehicle. The device made a soft landing, slowing down from 350 km/h.
According to the ISRO website, the launch took place at a test site near the city of Chitradurga (Karnataka). The missile was attached as a suspended payload on an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter.
The aircraft ascended to a height of 4.5 km, after which the rocket disengaged and automatically “performed landing approach maneuvers, relying on navigation, guidance and control systems.”
The rocket made a soft landing on the runway using a parachute-based braking system. The report states that the maneuver occurred “in the same return trajectory, as if the device had flown from space.”
Photo: ISRO
At the beginning of the landing, the speed of the RLV LEX was 350 km/h. ISRO also stresses that the launch vehicle was the first spacecraft to be lifted by helicopter for a test landing.
“With LEX, India’s reusable launch vehicle dream is one step closer to reality,” the statement said.
Author:
Ahmed Sadulayev
Source: RB
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