'ISRO Nails it Again': Winged Vehicle 'Pushpak' RLV Lands Autonomously in Karnataka

Chitradurga – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved yet another feat after the winged vehicle ‘Pushpak' (RLV-TD) successfully landed autonomously in Karnataka's Chitradurga. The space agency took to X, formally known as Twitter to share the news and called it another major milestone in the area of Reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology. The second experiment in the series of testing was conducted at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at 7:10 am. The agency also mentioned that the RLV-LEX-02 demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of RV from off-nominal initial conditions. The vehicle was released from the helicopter and was made to undertake difficult manoeuvres. 

The winged vehicle named “Pushpak” was lifted by the Indian Airforce's Chinook helicopter and was eventually released from 4.5 km altitude. After release, Pushpack autonomously approached the runway along with cross-range corrections and landed precisely on the runway. According to ISRO, the winged vehicle came to a halt by using its brake parachute, landing gear brakes and nose wheel steering system. 

“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 space agency said in a statement. “The winged body and flight systems used in RLV-LEX-01 were reused in the RL.V-LEX-02 mission after due certification/clearances. Hence reuse capability of flight hardware and flight systems is 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 statement further reads. 

ISRO Chief congratulates the team 

The agency mentioned that the monumental mission was accomplished by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) along with the Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC) and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU). The three bodies collaborated with various agencies including IAF, ADE, ADRDE and CEMILAC. Shortly after the mission was deemed a success, ISRO Chairman S Somanath congratulated everyone who was involved in the project. According to ISRO, the team involved in the operation was guided by  Shri Sunil P, Programme Director, Advanced Technology and Systems Programme, VSSC. Shri J Muthupandian, Project Director, RLV was the Mission Director and Shri B Karthik, Deputy Project Director, RLV was the Vehicle Director for this mission. With this, the mission successfully simulated the approach and high-speed landing conditions of RLV returning from space.