ISRO to launch India's first space shuttle RLV-TD next week: All you need to know

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to make history as for the very first time it is embarking on a never before space flight on May 23. The countdown for the maiden launch of ISRO’s very own indigenous version of a ‘space shuttle’, which is completely made-in-India, has begun.

Updated On : Wednesday, May 18, 2016 10:47 AM

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ISRO prepares for launch of India's first space shuttle RLV-TD: 10 facts you should know. (Representational Image)

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to make history as for the very first time it is embarking on a never before space flight on May 23. The countdown for the maiden launch of ISRO’s very own indigenous version of a ‘space shuttle’, which is completely made-in-India, has begun. (Also Read: India gets its own satellite system as ISRO successfully launches IRNSS-1G)
Here are 10 facts you should know about the RLV-TD:
1. India's first space shuttle, the indigenously made Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), will be launched at 9:30 AM at India’s space port at Sriharikota on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh.
2. ISRO will launch a spacecraft with delta wings for the first time ever and interestingly it will be glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal. However, during the experiment, the chances for recovery of RLV-TD from the sea are thin as the vehicle is likely to disintegrate on impact with water because it is not designed to float.
3. The purpose of the experiment is to see the RLV-TD glide and navigate from a velocity five times higher than the speed of sound onto a designated virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal some 500 km from the coast and not to watch it float. (Also Read: ISRO-NASA collaborate for NISAR satellite to study climate change and earthquakes)
4. The RLV-TD looks quite similar to the American space shuttle and is a scale model which is around 6 times smaller than the final version.
5. It will take at least 10-15 years for the final version to get ready because designing a human rated reusable rocket is no child play.
6. If the launch of RLV-TD gets successful, it will save ISRO millions of capital invested in the following missions. The average cost of launching a space shuttle without a reusable spaceship is around 5000 USD per 1 kg. If this mission turns out to be a success, it will bring down the cost to around 2000 USD per kg., which is a reduction of more than half. (Also Read: Mars Opposition 2016: The red planet will dazzle the brightest)
7. The new technology has been derived from the vision of late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and if successful, it will be able to save on the massive expenditure on space missions, which has been a major deterrent in space exploration.
8. The space shuttle weighs and measures as much as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). Standing 6.5m tall, the RLV-TD weighs in at 1.75 tons.
9. The shuttle will cross the speed of sound as it will enter the Earth's atmosphere. Hence, it is named the hyper sonic experiment (HEX).
10. The Indian government has spent a whopping 95 crores in the making of the RLV-TD.

Goodbye street-lights! Solar-powered cement to soon light up roads at night!

How cool would it be? To walk on roads that automatically lit themselves up the moment there is a car or a pedestrian walking!

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How cool would it be? To walk on roads that automatically lit themselves up the moment there is a car or a pedestrian walking! Imagine the beauty of it. Remember those beautiful bio-luminescent beaches? That light up around your ankles the moment you walk into them? Or those moments when the waves crash on the beach and emit a heavenly glow? Well, that might soon be your roads if the new cement technology developed by scientists finds its way into the market and on shelves! No, we do not mean that this cement is like waves or it is in fluid form but rather it emits a glow all by itself and is stunningly beautiful!
[ALSO READ: Kerala to soon get solar powered boats for its popular backwaters destination!]

Cement manufacturing is one of the largest carbon dioxide emitting processes leading to maximum global warming. The new process of manufacturing the solar cement is environment safe and emits zero carbon dioxide, helping lesson the carbon footprint by a great deal. A team of researchers from George Washington University in Ashburn, Virginia have named the new cement Solar Thermal Electrochemical Production of cement (STEP cement) and instead of emitting carbon dioxide in the manufacturing process, the limestone is separated into lime, graphite and oxygen or lime, CO and part O2. Though not luminescent, this cement is certainly much better than the one we use today.
solar cement

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And then, there’s the other type of cement which glows. But just how is it created? And is it possible to have it for real? Well yes. The cement is solar-powered cement that traps the solar energy during the daytime and emits a light from the cement itself at night. So, there’s no need for street-lamps as the street itself begins to glow. Researchers from another university, Michoacan’s University of San Nicolas Hidalgo (UMSNH), Mexico have created a gel-like cement that emits light at night. This type of cement can be used even on highways (Indian highways do not have streetlights) and thus, prevent accidents too. Also, the light from the cement can often keep animals at bay (wild animals are scared of light) and prevent road mishaps or accidental animal deaths.
[ALSO READ: Indian Railways hires people promising job of technician, makes them sweepers instead!]
Right now, fluorescent strips or paint or reflective lights are used along side the roads and these strips or lights do not have a long shelf life. They last for maximum 3 years post which they have to be changed,. However, in the case of light emitting cement, it can last for years on end and at times even over a 100 years without needing to be replaced. The cement emits blue or green coloured light and the brightness can be adjusted so that the glare does not affect drivers or is not too powerful. Dr. Jose Carlos Rubio, from UMSNH and his team modified the structure of cement to form a gel-like substance that is translucent instead of opaque. This gel like substance can then absorb the sun-light and store it in the form of solar energy.
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As Dr. Rubio explains, “Common cement is like dust, and when it’s added to water it dissolves like an effervescent pill. In that moment it starts to become a gel, similar to the one used for hair styling, but much stronger and much more resistant. At the same time, some crystal flakes are formed; these are unwanted sub-products in hardened cement. cement is ecological, because it is composed of sand, dust or clay, which becomes the gel, and the only residue after the making is steam.” His team has already patented their creation and they are currently getting a lot of recognition for their creation.
So, when do you think we’ll see glowing roads in India?