What is a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)?

• RLV is a type of spacecraft that is designed to be reused multiple times for launching payloads into space, instead of being discarded after a single launch like traditional rockets.
• They are seen as a more cost-effective and sustainable option for space launches, as they reduce the need for manufacturing new rockets for each mission.
• They typically consist of a reusable orbiter, similar to a space shuttle, and a reusable booster that provides the initial thrust needed to lift the orbiter and payload into space.
• After the payload is released into orbit, the orbiter and booster return to Earth and land back on a runway, where they can be refurbished and reused for future launches.

Why developing RLV is a big feat?

Developing RLVs requires advanced technologies, including-

1. Heat-resistant materials for protecting the spacecraft during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere
2. Advanced guidance and control systems for landing and
3. Reliable propulsion systems for launching and landing

ISRO’s RLV-TD project

• ISRO is developing essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle to enable low-cost access to space.
• The RLV-TD is being used to develop technologies like hypersonic flight (HEX), autonomous landing (LEX), return flight experiment (REX), powered cruise flight, and Scramjet Propulsion Experiment (SPEX).
• It looks like an aircraft and consists of a fuselage, a nose cap, double delta wings, and twin vertical tails.

Development of RLV

(1) First RLV experiment:

• In 2016, the RLV-TD was launched into space on a rocket powered by a conventional solid booster (HS9) engine.
• The spacecraft travelled at a speed of Mach 5 when re-entering the earth’s orbit and travelled a distance of 450 km before splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.
• Critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance and control, reusable thermal protection system, and re-entry mission management were successfully validated.

(2) Second RLV experiment:

• The RLV LEX test on April 2, 2023, involved a Chinook Helicopter lifting the RLV LEX to a height of 4.5 km and releasing the RLV.
• After midair release, the RLV carried out an autonomous landing on the Aeronautical Test Range airstrip, under the exact conditions of a Space Re-entry vehicle’s landing.
• It achieved landing parameters as might be experienced by an orbital re-entry space vehicle in its return path.

Advantages of RLVs

• Reusable launch vehicles are considered a low-cost, reliable, and on-demand mode of accessing space.
• The cost of a launch can be reduced by nearly 80 percent of the present cost by using RLVs.

Global RLV technologies

• NASA space shuttles have been carrying out dozens of human space flight missions.
• The private space launch services provider SpaceX demonstrated partially reusable launch systems with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets since 2017.
• SpaceX is also working on a fully reusable launch vehicle system called Starship.
• Several private launch service providers and government space agencies are working on developing reusable launch systems.

Significance

• RLVs have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of space launches, as a significant portion of the cost of traditional rockets comes from the need to manufacture new rockets for each mission.
• By reusing spacecraft, the cost per launch can be significantly reduced.
• Additionally, RLVs can provide greater flexibility and reliability for space launches, as they can be launched on-demand instead of needing to be manufactured and assembled for each mission.