CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
EN/FR
Search
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

RLV Technology Demonstration Programme

Indian program to develop a TSTO reusable launch vehicle

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ7276957 ↗
Source-derived summary

Reusable Launch Vehicle–Technology Demonstration Programme is a series of technology demonstration missions that has been conceived by ISRO as a first step towards realising a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) reusable launch vehicle, in which the second stage is a spaceplane.

For this purpose, a winged reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrator (RLV-TD) has been configured. The RLV-TD acted as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies like powered cruise flight, hypersonic flight, and autonomous landing using air-breathing propulsion. Application of these technologies would bring down the launch cost by a factor of 10. This project has no connection with the Avatar spaceplane concept by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.

History

In 2006 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) performed a series of ground tests to demonstrate stable supersonic combustion for nearly 7 seconds with an inlet Mach number of 6.

In March 2010, ISRO conducted the flight testing of its new sounding rocket: Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV-D01), weighing 3 tonnes at lift-off, a diameter of 0.56 m (1 ft 10 in), and a length of ~10 m (33 ft). It carried a passive scramjet engine combustor module as a test-bed for demonstration of air-breathing propulsion technology.

In January 2012, ISRO announced that a scaled prototype, called Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), was approved to be built and tested. The aerodynamics characterization on the RLV-TD prototype was done by the National Aerospace Laboratories in India.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “RLV Technology Demonstration Programme” as indian program to develop a TSTO reusable launch vehicle. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2006, 2010, 2012—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Technology, Demonstration and Programme can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as indian program to develop a TSTO reusable launch vehicle. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7276957. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2006, 2010 and 2012.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “RLV Technology Demonstration Programme”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow RLV Technology Demonstration Programme primary sources, RLV Technology Demonstration Programme archive and Technology research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “RLV Technology Demonstration Programme”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “RLV Technology Demonstration Programme” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.