Indian space agency ISRO on Sunday successfully conducted the landing of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) in Chitradurga city of Karnataka state.
"India achieved it! ISRO, joined by @DRDO_India @IAF_MCC, successfully conducted the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka in the early hours on April 2, 2023," ISRO tweeted.
The spacecraft took off from the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga with an Indian Air Force (IAF) Chinook Helicopter in the wee hours of April 2. Launched as an underslung load on the IAF chopper, it flew to an altitude of 4.5 kilometers.
Once the RLV accomplished the test height as per the parameters of the Mission Management Computer command, it was separated from the helicopter before being released into the air.
"In a first in the world, a winged body has been carried to an altitude of 4.5 km by a helicopter and released for carrying out an autonomous landing on a runway," ISRO said in a statement.
The space agency added that RLV carried out landing maneuvers, accomplishing an autonomous landing after using its control system and navigation system.
"The autonomous landing was carried out under the exact conditions of a Space Re-entry vehicle's landing —high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path— as if the vehicle arrives from space," ISRO noted.
Other government agencies involved in the test were the Indian Air Force (IAF), Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), and Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE).