Mission Accomplished: ISRO's RLV-TD Autonomous Landing A Historic First

ISRO successfully accomplished the landing experiment of the RLV-TD programme at Challakere, Chitradurga on Sunday.

The ISRO successfully tested the landing of the RLV-TD with the help of an IAF Chinook helicopter dropping it from a height of 4.5 km.

At 7:10 a.m., the RLV was launched by an IAF Chinook helicopter as an underslung load and flew at a height of 4.5 km. Once the predetermined parameters were achieved, the RLV was released mid-air based on Mission Management and Computer command. ISRO reported that the release happened at a downrange of 4.6 km.

The RLV was released autonomously, completed approach and landing maneuvers, used Integrated Navigation, Guidance, and Control System, and landed on the airstrip at 7:40 am.

A winged body was lifted to 4.5 km by a helicopter, then released for an autonomous landing on a runway - a first in the world, according to the space agency.

ISRO states the RLV-TD has features of both a launch vehicle and aircraft, with a comparable configuration to an aircraft.

ISRO stated that the winged RLV-TD will serve as a test bed to assess hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, and powered cruise flight technologies. In the future, it will be enlarged to serve as the primary stage of India's reusable two-stage orbital launch vehicle.

The RLV-TD has a fuselage, nose cap, double delta wings, twin vertical tails, and active control surfaces named Elevons and Rudder.

On May 23, 2016, RLV-TD passed its flight test in Sriharikota, confirming its critical technologies including autonomous navigation and a reusable thermal protection system.

During this test the vehicle landed on hypothetical Bay of Bengal runway during mission.

Today's (2 April) landing is the program's second experiment in its flight series.

The program has the potential to reduce the cost of satellite launches, develop a local space industry, and provide a platform for future manned space missions. However, the program is still in its early stages, and there are many technical challenges that need to be overcome before a fully operational RLV can be developed.

More pictures and videos are here.