ISRO completes its RLV technology demonstrations through LEX trio

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a third consecutive success in the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Landing Experiment (LEX) on June 23, 2024. The third and final test in the series of LEX (03) was conducted at 07:10 IST at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

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).

 

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Through this mission, the advanced guidance algorithm catering to longitudinal and lateral plane error corrections, which is essential for the future Orbital Re-entry Mission has been validated. The RLV-LEX uses multisensor fusion including sensors like the Inertial sensor, Radar altimeter, Flush air data system, Pseudolite system, and NavIC.

Notably, the RLV-LEX-03 mission reused the winged body and flight systems as such without any modification, from the LEX-02 mission, demonstrating the robustness of ISRO's capability of design to reuse flight systems for multiple missions.

Shri. S Somanath, Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, Department of Space, congratulated the team for their efforts in maintaining the success streak in such complex missions. Dr. S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director of VSSC, emphasized that this consistent success boosts ISRO's confidence in the critical technologies essential for future orbital re-entry missions.

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The mission, led by VSSC, was a collaborative effort involving multiple ISRO centers SAC, ISTRAC, SDSC-SHAR and IISU, with significant support from the Indian Air Force (IAF), Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness (RCMA) under Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Indian aerospace industrial partners, Indian Oil Corporation of India and Airport Authority of India.

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