By means of the RLV LEX-02 landing experiment, ISRO has reached a significant technological milestone, the organization announced on Friday.
This is the second of a succession of events that will take place at 7.10 am at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, Karnataka.
The Bengaluru-based space agency said in a statement that following the completion of the RLV-LEX-01 mission last year, RLV-LEX-02 demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) from off-nominal initial conditions while being released 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,” according to the report.
Suspended from an altitude of 4.5 kilometers, the Pushpak, a wingless aircraft, was hoisted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter. Following its discharge at a distance of 4 kilometers from the runway, Pushpak approached the runway autonomously while executing cross-range corrections. ISRO reported that the aircraft stopped precisely on the runway using its brake parachute, landing gear brakes, and nose wheel steering system.
This mission effectively replicated the conditions of a high-velocity landing and approach for an RLV returning from space, the report continued.
“With this second mission, ISRO has re-validated 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 organization reported.
With the necessary certifications and approvals, the wing body and all flight systems utilized in RLV-LEX-01 were repurposed for the RLV-LEX-02 mission. The mission thus demonstrates the capability of flight hardware and flight systems to be reused, according to ISRO.
As a result of the RLV-LEX-01 observation, the landing gear and airframe structure were reinforced to withstand greater landing pressures, the report stated.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), in collaboration with the Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC) and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), successfully completed the mission.
S. Somanath, chairperson of ISRO, commended the group on its flawless completion of this intricate mission.
Regarding the landing experiment’s success, VSSC Director Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair stated that ISRO could achieve a critical step towards the future by mastering the terminal phase maneuvering, landing, and energy management in a fully autonomous mode due to this repeated success.
