India has achieved a significant milestone in its space program with the successful completion of the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) on Sunday. The mission was carried out by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in collaboration with the Air Force and the Defense Space Research Organization.

The test was conducted at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka, and involved the launch of the RLV by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter as an “underslung load.” The RLV then reached a height of 4.5 km above MSL before being released mid-air and landing autonomously on the ATR airstrip using the Integrated Navigation, Guidance, and Control system.

ISRO described the RLV as a “space plane with a low lift-to-drag ratio requiring an approach at high glide angles that necessitated a landing at high velocities of 350 kmph.” The landing experiment utilized several indigenous systems, including pseudolite-based localized navigation systems and instrumentation and sensor systems.

ISRO’s successful completion of the RLV LEX mission represents a significant advancement in India’s space program and paves the way for the development of cost-effective launch vehicles using contemporary technologies developed for RLV LEX. ISRO’s achievement has been widely hailed in India, with the national space agency tweeting, “India accomplished it!” and describing the mission as a first of its kind on the planet.