• Source:JND
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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a third consecutive success in the safe landing of an uncrewed, autonomous winged Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV LEX-03) named ‘Pushpak’ on Sunday. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, ISRO issued a statement in which it said, "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.”

Following the accomplishment, ISRO chief S Somanath congratulated the team for their dedication in sustaining the series of success in such “complex missions.” "ISRO achieved a hat-trick of safe landings by the Pushpak or Reusable Launch Vehicle, now this sets the stage for the orbital test of Pushpak. It will be launched on a rocket into space, and then it can safely land on Earth. Truly a game-changer technology to reduce the cost of access to space,” the ISRO chief told NDTV. 

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The mission replicated the approach of landing interface, and high-speed landing circumstances for a vehicle returning from orbit, showcasing ISRO's ability to acquire critical technologies for Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) development.

The Reusable Launch Vehicle LEX-03 mission is built upon the the success of previous missions, the RLV LEX-01 and LEX-02 missions, which demonstrated the RLV's autonomous landing capability under more challenging conitions.

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At an altitude of 4.5 kilometres,  the winged vehicle, 'Pushpak', was reportedly released from an Indian Air Force Chinook Helicopter. Pushpak performed cross-range corrective manoeuvres autonomously from a release point 4.5 km from the runway, approaching and landing perfectly on the runway centreline.

The RLV-LEX-03 mission reused the winged body and flying systems of the LEX-02 mission with no modifications, demonstrating ISRO's capacity to develop reusable flight systems for repeated missions.