
India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday - adventured
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-22/modi-s-mini-shuttle-set-to-blast-into-elon-musk-s-race-for-space
======
balakk
It's launched already, deemed successful.

[http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-
successfully-...](http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/india-successfully-
launches-reusable-launch-vehicle/article8635448.ece?homepage=true)

~~~
hackaflocka
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.

~~~
mangamadaiyan
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
How to downvote. I am not able to see the downvote option in the comment
section.

~~~
kranner
There's a karma/points threshold before you can see the downvote option.

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nautical
Official Link : [http://www.isro.gov.in/technology-development-
programmes/reu...](http://www.isro.gov.in/technology-development-
programmes/reusable-launch-vehicle-technology-demonstration-program-rlv-td)

(Posted here before :
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11751458](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11751458))

~~~
rahuldeshpande
A direct link to images : [http://www.isro.gov.in/rlv-td/reusable-launch-
vehicle-techno...](http://www.isro.gov.in/rlv-td/reusable-launch-vehicle-
technology-demonstrator-rlv-td-images)

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dmode
"The final version will take at least 10-15 years to get ready."

This was at the bottom of the Hindu article. How does this compare with SpaceX
and Blue Origin's timelines ?

~~~
generj
SpaceX is within 1-2 years of the Falcon Heavy; same timeline for the Dragon 2
capsule (reusable) for carrying humans into and out of space. Blue Origin's
timeline to orbit is a quite a bit longer and filled with a lot more question
marks.

With that said, there is value for India in having their own cheap space
launch system which can't be blocked off by the US on a whim.

~~~
adventured
I agree. Even if the launch vehicle were to fail, there's a large amount of
value for India in building up the significant infrastructure (both
technological and intellectual) involved in having broad space capabilities.
In the next five or so years India will pass France to become the fifth
largest economy in nominal terms; in the next 15-20 years they'll probably
overtake the UK, Germany and Japan to move into third place. It definitely
makes sense for them to keep investing in space regardless of the outcome on
something like this vehicle.

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dingo_bat
Some news outlets have been calling it a "space shuttle", which is highly
inaccurate considering that this has no plans of being for human use. I'm
happy with the progress ISRO has made but lying/deception will not help
anybody.

~~~
dgaaaaaaaaaa
It could be just ignorance. I would bet that the journalist thought that space
shuttle is a fancy word for rocket.

~~~
dingo_bat
It is a mix of ignorance and trying to exaggerate/sensationalize everything.

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linux_devil
Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO plans to test two more such
prototypes before the final version which will be about six times larger at
around 40 metres and will take off around 2030. src
:[http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-all-set-to-launch-
its-o...](http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-all-set-to-launch-its-own-
space-shuttle-today-1408943)

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arjie
Video would be cool. Something I really like is being able to watch all these
launches, famous or otherwise. On Youtube, you can go all the way to the
Saturn SA-1 launch:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0-8Pd7fK9w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0-8Pd7fK9w).
Fantastic stuff.

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ramgorur
some people in india are saying this might be a lousy propaganda, no one knows
what, you can never be 100% sure of what modi government says (or does).

But, let's say I have enough money and man-power to build a nintendo-ds and a
hygienic toilet, moreover assume, I don't have either. Also assume, I go
outside my home to take a dump on the street (or behind a bush), but I also
want to play super-mario-bros on the nintendo-ds at the same time. which one
should I build first? obviously the toilet, right?

before making a reusable spacecraft, we should spend some rupees on making
some good toilets --

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixJgY2VSct0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixJgY2VSct0)

we should be more serious about prioritizing the issues that we want to spend
the tax-payers' money on.

~~~
sriram_malhar
Every country -- even the poorest -- can afford to do multiple things well at
the same time. Both sanitation and space exploration have their own benefits.

As a Nigerian economist once said, "we are not a poor country; we are a poorly
managed country".

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deanstag
'Everything went according to the projectory, he said adding that the winged
space plane will not be recovered from the sea.' \- Is that okay? Do a lot of
missions around the world consider sea a dumping ground?

~~~
lmm
The ocean, for spacecraft first stages, yes. Rocket launches are so infrequent
and the ocean so large that it seems irrelevant, and in any case there's no
practical alternative for a nation that's just getting started with
spaceflight.

~~~
pravula
India has been launching from 1960s. It is not "a nation that's just getting
started with spaceflight"

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runewell
Cool! The more common reusable rockets become, the more we can assume their
cost benefits and apply them to even more ambitious space projects.

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yoda2
Rather than focusing on competition between different organizations we should
focus on development happening in space science in recent years.

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Allamaprabhu
kudos

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hackaflocka
My suggestion to India: focus on encouraging the would-be Elon Musks in your
population. Give them permission to do it. Remove the barriers to them doing
it.

You'll get there much faster if the private sector were doing it.

~~~
hackaflocka
Wow -- people are downvoting such basic commonsense.

~~~
piyushpr134
because it is a pathetic comment. Thank you

~~~
dang
Your comments have repeatedly broken the site guidelines. We ban accounts that
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substantively, or not at all.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

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