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India launches mini space shuttle
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36355842India launches mini space shuttle
5 hours ago
India has launched an unmanned model space shuttle, joining the race to develop reusable spacecraft. The 7m scale model took off from Andhra Pradesh and was expected to fly about 70km (43 miles) into the atmosphere before coming down at sea.
Since Nasa stopped its Space Shuttle programme in 2011, there has been strong international competition to design alternative reusable spacecraft. Such vehicles significantly cut the cost of space exploration.
(snip)
Monday's launch of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV-TD) took place at a site at Sriharikota.
The 1.75-tonne craft was not expected to survive the flight but was designed to enable the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to collect important data on hypersonic speed and autonomous landing. The model was developed over the past five years at a cost of 1bn rupees ($14m; £9.6m).
(snip)
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