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It's launched already, deemed successful. http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-successfully-launches-reusable-launch-vehicle/article8635448.ece?homep

by balakk 10y ago

It's launched already, deemed successful. http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-successfully-launches-reusable-launch-vehicle/article8635448.ece?homepage=true http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-successfully-...

hackaflocka 10y ago
Such a poorly worded article, replete with grammatical errors. No close-up pictures of the "shuttle." Strange. (And I'm not talking about a generic long range picture of a rocket taking off either.) The episode has the smell of government propaganda.
- slaxman 10y ago
  'No pictures of the "shuttle." Strange.' The picture clearly shows a 'winged' rocket as described in the article. "The episode has the smell of government propaganda." Not sure from where you get the smell of government propaganda. ISRO has been credited for some of the most successful launches. They sent a probe to mars in the first attempt. There seem to be smart folks working there.
- mangamadaiyan 10y ago
  I don't understand the downvotes. There's always a place for contrasting opinions, and /especially/ when they're expressed politely, they deserve a polite response. I have the same doubts. I'd love to see a picture of the real thing.
  - joe563323 10y ago
    How to downvote. I am not able to see the downvote option in the comment section.
    - kranner 10y ago
      There's a karma/points threshold before you can see the downvote option.
  - pjc50 10y ago
    It's not really all that polite, it's dismissing it as propaganda. The article is quite clear that this is the very beginning of the programme. Here's a picture from a link in this thread: http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/Reusable%20Launch%20Vehicle-Technology%20Demonstrator%20%28RLV-TD%29%20Images/5c330.jpg http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/Reusabl... Remember, it's a scale model!
- arjun1296 10y ago
  Gravity movies budget was 100 million USD and ISRO's mars mission budget was 75 million USD. So I don't get the smell of government propaganda. After all India ain't North Korea.
- shripadk 10y ago
  Here is the initial video footage of the RLV-TD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LsK5um-hDw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LsK5um-hDw
slaxman 10y ago
From the article: "Scientists at ISRO believe that they could reduce the cost by as much as 10 times if reusable technology succeeds, bringing it down to $2,000 per kg." Wow! That's extremely cheap! What are SpaceX's expected numbers?
- hughes 10y ago
  SpaceX's current price for the Falcon Heavy is already below $2k/kg
- generj 10y ago
  "The Falcon Heavy, aims to lower the cost to $1,000 per pound [or $2,204.62 per kg]." (old article) [0] However, the pricing page for SpaceX shows the Falcon Heavy runs $90 Million USD for a launch of 54,400 kg to LEO (on a fully expendable vehicle, so no refunds). That works out to be $1,654 per kg (or $750 per pound, under their original estimate). Reusing the first stage rockets reduces the lift profile but the costs are projected to be about 2/3 of their original value, so I'd suspect the overall cost to be even lower - around $1,300/kg or so. [Edit] Elon Musk is on record as saying his ultimate goal is $100 per pound, or $254/kg. That presumes daily flights.[2] In a Senate meeting in 2004 he said, "Ultimately, I believe $500 per pound [$1,270 per kg] or less is very achievable."[3] Depending on discounts on the Falcon Heavy, SpaceX is sitting around that cost level. [0] http://www.airspacemag.com/space/is-spacex-changing-the-rocket-equation-132285884/#kLpCsJ2kVGeAOM7c.99 http://www.airspacemag.com/space/is-spacex-changing-the-rock... [1] http://www.spacex.com/about/capabilities http://www.spacex.com/about/capabilities [2] http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/21/138166072/spaceflight-is-getting-cheaper-but-its-still-not-cheap-enough http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/21/138166072/space... [3]http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=12774 http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=12774
eni 10y ago
Official update from the space agency here has some technical details: http://www.isro.gov.in/update/23-may-2016/india%E2%80%99s-reusable-launch-vehicle-technology-demonstrator-rlv-td-successfully http://www.isro.gov.in/update/23-may-2016/india%E2%80%99s-re...
deleted 10y ago
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by balakk 10y ago

hackaflocka 10y ago

Such a poorly worded article, replete with grammatical errors. No close-up pictures of the "shuttle." Strange. (And I'm not talking about a generic long range picture of a rocket taking off either.) The episode has the smell of government propaganda.

slaxman 10y ago
'No pictures of the "shuttle." Strange.' The picture clearly shows a 'winged' rocket as described in the article. "The episode has the smell of government propaganda." Not sure from where you get the smell of government propaganda. ISRO has been credited for some of the most successful launches. They sent a probe to mars in the first attempt. There seem to be smart folks working there.
mangamadaiyan 10y ago
I don't understand the downvotes. There's always a place for contrasting opinions, and /especially/ when they're expressed politely, they deserve a polite response. I have the same doubts. I'd love to see a picture of the real thing.
- joe563323 10y ago
  How to downvote. I am not able to see the downvote option in the comment section.
  - kranner 10y ago
    There's a karma/points threshold before you can see the downvote option.
- pjc50 10y ago
  It's not really all that polite, it's dismissing it as propaganda. The article is quite clear that this is the very beginning of the programme. Here's a picture from a link in this thread: http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/Reusable%20Launch%20Vehicle-Technology%20Demonstrator%20%28RLV-TD%29%20Images/5c330.jpg http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/Reusabl... Remember, it's a scale model!
arjun1296 10y ago
Gravity movies budget was 100 million USD and ISRO's mars mission budget was 75 million USD. So I don't get the smell of government propaganda. After all India ain't North Korea.
shripadk 10y ago
Here is the initial video footage of the RLV-TD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LsK5um-hDw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LsK5um-hDw

slaxman 10y ago

From the article: "Scientists at ISRO believe that they could reduce the cost by as much as 10 times if reusable technology succeeds, bringing it down to $2,000 per kg." Wow! That's extremely cheap! What are SpaceX's expected numbers?

hughes 10y ago
SpaceX's current price for the Falcon Heavy is already below $2k/kg
generj 10y ago
"The Falcon Heavy, aims to lower the cost to $1,000 per pound [or $2,204.62 per kg]." (old article) [0] However, the pricing page for SpaceX shows the Falcon Heavy runs $90 Million USD for a launch of 54,400 kg to LEO (on a fully expendable vehicle, so no refunds). That works out to be $1,654 per kg (or $750 per pound, under their original estimate). Reusing the first stage rockets reduces the lift profile but the costs are projected to be about 2/3 of their original value, so I'd suspect the overall cost to be even lower - around $1,300/kg or so. [Edit] Elon Musk is on record as saying his ultimate goal is $100 per pound, or $254/kg. That presumes daily flights.[2] In a Senate meeting in 2004 he said, "Ultimately, I believe $500 per pound [$1,270 per kg] or less is very achievable."[3] Depending on discounts on the Falcon Heavy, SpaceX is sitting around that cost level. [0] http://www.airspacemag.com/space/is-spacex-changing-the-rocket-equation-132285884/#kLpCsJ2kVGeAOM7c.99 http://www.airspacemag.com/space/is-spacex-changing-the-rock... [1] http://www.spacex.com/about/capabilities http://www.spacex.com/about/capabilities [2] http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/21/138166072/spaceflight-is-getting-cheaper-but-its-still-not-cheap-enough http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/21/138166072/space... [3]http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=12774 http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=12774

eni 10y ago

Official update from the space agency here has some technical details: http://www.isro.gov.in/update/23-may-2016/india%E2%80%99s-reusable-launch-vehicle-technology-demonstrator-rlv-td-successfully http://www.isro.gov.in/update/23-may-2016/india%E2%80%99s-re...

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]