Context

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has reached a significant milestone in reusable launch vehicle technology with the successful landing experiment of the RLV LEX-02. The experiment marks a crucial step forward in the development of reusable launch vehicles (RLVs).

What is Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX-02)? 

• Building upon the success of the RLV-LEX-01 mission last year, the RLV-LEX-02 mission demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of the reusable launch vehicle from challenging challenging initial conditions after release from a helicopter.
• Named Pushpak, the winged vehicle was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter and released from an altitude of 4.5 km.
• It autonomously approached the runway with cross-range corrections and landed precisely, coming to a halt using its brake parachute, landing gear brakes, and nose wheel steering system.
• The Pushpak launch vehicle is India's bold attempt to make access to space most affordable.