Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota Pad for RLV-TD

Mission Profile

The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR at Sriharikota, on India's east coast, includes dedicated facilities for ISRO's Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) program, a sub-scale prototype of a future reusable spaceplane. The RLV-TD was launched on 23 May 2016 on a HS9 solid booster, performing a hypersonic reentry and autonomous approach and landing on a virtual runway over the Bay of Bengal to validate reentry aerodynamics, guidance navigation and control, and thermal protection systems. SDSC is India's primary spaceport, with first and second launch pads supporting the full range of ISRO launch vehicles from PSLV to GSLV and LVM3, and represents the foundation of India's growing commercial launch services capabilities.