ISRO Successfully Completes Final ‘Pushpak’ Reusable Launch Vehicle Landing Experiment

ISRO Successfully Completes Final ‘Pushpak’ Reusable Launch: ISRO Pushpak for the third time has finally landed successfully as per the reports from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

On June 23, a tweet shared by ISRO on its X (formerly known as twitter) account said, “Hat-trick for ISRO in RLV LEX! ????”

ISRO further said, “ISRO achieved its third and final consecutive success in the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Landing EXperiment (LEX) on June 23, 2024. "Pushpak" executed a precise horizontal landing, showcasing advanced autonomous capabilities under challenging conditions.

“With the objectives of RLV LEX accomplished, ISRO embarks into RLV-ORV, the orbital reusable vehicle.”

This marks the third time in a row that the Pushpak rocket has landed successfully.

Also, this time the ISRO Pushpak rocket without any changes using the same body and flight systems from the second demonstration made it a successful operation without any casualties.

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The Pushpak rocket was created to take satellites into space and bring them back with a smooth landing like a plane. However, this keeps launch costs low and helps the company stay competitive.

Because of its wings, ISRO Pushpak will glide and land horizontally unlike SpaceX's rockets.

The third experiment was to test to see how well ISRO Pushpak will handle tougher circumstances such as when there are extreme wind conditions and the launch vehicle deviates more from its planned orbit. The experiment took place in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

The reports from ISRO said, “Following the success of the RLV LEX-01 and LEX-02 missions, RLV LEX-03 re-demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of the RLV under more challenging release conditions (cross range of 500 m against 150 m for LEX-02) and more severe wind conditions.”

ISRO said, “The winged vehicle, named 'Pushpak', was released from an Indian Air Force Chinook Helicopter at an altitude of 4.5 km. From a release point 4.5 km away from the runway. Pushpak autonomously executed cross-range correction manoeuvres, approached the runway and performed a precise horizontal landing at the runway centreline.”

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The official report from the space agency said, “Due to this vehicle's low lift-to-drag ratio aerodynamic configuration, the landing velocity exceeded 320 kmph, compared to 260 kmph for a commercial aircraft and 280 kmph for a typical fighter aircraft.”

“After touchdown, the vehicle velocity was reduced to nearly 100 kmph using its brake parachute, after which the landing gear brakes were employed for deceleration and stop on the runway.”

“During this ground roll phase, Pushpak utilises its rudder and nose wheel steering system to autonomously maintain a stable and precise ground roll along the runway.”

ISRO at last said, “This mission simulated the approach and landing interface and high-speed landing conditions for a vehicle returning from space, reaffirming ISRO’s expertise in acquiring the most critical technologies required for the development of a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV).”

However, the success of this experiment makes it one step closer to when it will be used for actual missions.

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