By NNN-PTI
Banglore : India plans to launch a reusable rocket for the first time by 2010, says its space agency chief.
“Our target (for the first launch) is before 2010,” Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), G Madhavan Nair, told PTI.
The space scientists have already designed a “demonstrator” to measure parameters of the vehicle and further work is in progress, Nair, also Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission, said.
A facility to study aspects of aerodynamics and related matters pertaining to the reusable launch vehicle is coming up in Thiruvananthapuram, he added.
“It (the launch vehicle) will use a rocket to boost it up to a Mach Number of nearly five or so…Then try to characterise the vehicle, and it will of course go into the sea after that.” ISRO is now planning experiments to see whether air breathing modules can be integrated into this reusable rocket.
“This will give inputs in taking up design of actual reusable launch vehicle,” the ISRO Chairman said.
ISRO, meanwhile, is also focusing its attention on the Mars mission, which could take place as early as 2012.
“We have thrown this idea (mission to the red planet) to the scientific community. They are coming out with some proposals and suggestions,” Nair said.
Martian atmosphere is very interesting, he observed.