Test Flight of First Space Shuttle Made in India Proved to be Successful

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is slowly catching up with space industry giants such as SpaceX. They recently conducted a test for their Indian-made reusable space shuttle and according to the agency, the maiden test flight was a success.

The Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) is a 7m-scale model of their reusable space shuttle. The test spacecraft was launched in Andhra Pradesh according to a report by BBC. The test flight was set at 70km (43miles) before the model has to head back to the sea. It also weighs around 1.75 tons said Quartz India.

NASA already stopped its Space Shuttle Program in 2011 and is currently using the SpaceX Dragon for its resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA is currently looking at reusable rockets and space shuttles to drastically lessen the cost of space missions.

ISRO had been active in space research and they are now ready to launch bigger space shuttles as exemplified with the test flight of their new Indian-made spacecraft.

The test flight lasted for about 13 minutes and was declared a success by ISRO.

"Mission has been accomplished and all the parameters and trajectories were fulfilled. The lift-off was sharp at 7am and then the vehicle landed in the Bay of Bengal," a spokesperson for ISRO said in an interview with Mint in New Delhi.

ISRO said that the test flight is a 'hypersonic flight experiment (HEX)' and the next batch of testing will focus on landing the space shuttle. Although the full version of the spacecraft will only be developed in 10-15 years, Indians are proud of the achievements they were able to accomplish. ISRO received praises from the members of the government.

Launch of India's first indigenous space shuttle RLV-TD is the result of the industrious efforts of our scientists. Congrats to them.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2016

Hearty congratulations to ISRO on successful launch of India's first Re-usable Launch Vehicle -Technology Demonstrator #PresidentMukherjee
— President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) May 23, 2016