India Concluded First Successful Test Of Low-Cost Reusable Space Shuttle

India has successfully tried its first small space shuttle which is a part of its efforts to create low-cost reusable spacecraft. The Indian Space Research Organization said that the shuttle lifted off on a rocket from a launch pad in the southern part of India on Monday and completed a successful 13-minute test flight.

Pallava Bagla, a space expert writing for science magazines said that the test made it possible for India to start their low-cost space missions. He also said that the United States and other countries have abandoned the use reusable winged spacecraft, but India hopes to lower down the cost of access to space by 90 percent, thus using reusable vehicles.

According to a report by ABC News, the space agency released a statement saying, "In this flight, critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance and control, reusable thermal protection system and re-entry mission management have been successfully validated."

"We are very excited," said Deviprasad Karnika, a spokesman for ISRO. "The team has been working on the project for the past 10 years, with the past five spent on designing the actual model." However, Karnik warned that they still have a long road ahead of them. "This is just an experiment, which is a baby step to the final reusable launch vehicle which will take years to realize," he told CNN a week prior to the launch. There is no concrete next step for the team, but to analyze the data for now, he added.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent quick congratulations to the team on a successful launch. He tweeted from Tehran, where he is meeting with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.

Launch of India's first indigenous space shuttle RLV-TD is the result of the industrious efforts of our scientists. Congrats to them.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 23 May 2016

The dynamism & dedication with which our scientists & @isro have worked over the years is exceptional and very inspiring. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 23 May 2016

India is trying their best to become a player in the multibillion-dollar space launch market, and has successfully placed light satellites into orbit in recent years. It also hopes to be able to send astronaut into space in the future.

In September 2014, it successfully guided a spacecraft into orbit around Mars. Only the United States, the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency have been able to do that before.