[ISRO] hopes the shuttle will enable India to offer cut-price satellite launches and become a dominant player in the industry. Last night officials said if successful the shuttle may, in time, be used for other transport uses, but its main purpose now is to “reduce the cost of access to space.”
The Indian shuttle, currently known by its technical name, Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator – will now undergo a number of structure and load tests before it takes its first test flight early next year.
It bears a strong resemblance to the American Challenger shuttle, with a tube-shaped body and triangular wings, and sits vertically, nose up, on top of its launch rocket.
ISRO spokesman Mr S. Satish on Thursday night said that, if successful, the demonstrator would “prove the technology for the development of a space shuttle,” but it would be a further four or five years before the country would be ready for a commercial launch.
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