In India, we held on Monday the first successful test reusable space shuttle, a model of low cost that allows you to enter the race of such rockets, announced a program manager, outlined in a note to the news agency AFP .
The shuttle, equipped with wings, took off from Sriharikota in southeast of the country, at 07H00 local and reached an altitude of 70 km before descending and amerizar 10 minutes later in the Bay of Bengal.
"The launch took place from the first launch pad located here," he told AFP Devi Prasad Karnik, a senior official of the Indian Space Agency (ISRO). "We have succeeded (launch) RLV mission as prototype technology."
ISRO, known for its low cost programs, has developed this shuttle, called RLV-TD (reusable launch vehicle) with a budget of 1,000 billion rupees (14 million dollars, 13.2 million euros).
Monday's mission was crucial for the development of a reusable shuttle capable of sending satellites test.
Competition
India has to face significant competition from private groups that develop their own programs of reusable shuttles, after abandoning his NASA space shuttle program in 2011.
These reusable ships will greatly reduce the cost compared to a conventional shuttle and decrease the material used.
The Indian space agency wants to develop a low cost shuttle to answer potential satellite launch to the huge demand from other countries.