NEW DELHI - India has embarked on its next generation of indigenous winged reusable rockets in an effort to launch satellites at a low cost among various other advantages, the country's space research agency said on Sunday.
As a first step, the Indian Space Research Organization has configured a winged Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator which it says will "act as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies like hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air breathing propulsion. First in the series of demonstration trials is the hypersonic flight experiment."
Sources said that the reusable rockets are being developed on the lines of US space shuttles under a long-term project.
"The reusable rockets would have a rocket that can propel the launch vehicle at a speed of Mach five or upwards and then drop into the sea later," the sources said.
