ISRO is on the verge of developing a reusable space shuttle. The 1.5 tonne vehicle resembles an aircraft and is expected to make its maiden flight at the end of July or August from Sriharikota's Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

According to a leading English daily, the reusable launch vehicle (RLV) will reduce the cost of sending objects in space. Scientists are hoping to bring down the cost from $5000 from $500.

The RLV will be initially carried by a single rocket booster with nine tonnes of propellants. It will reach the altitude of 70 km above earth and then make a landing in Bay of Bengal. The total duration of this mission will be around 900 seconds. About 600 heat-resistant carbon tiles are placed around the nose of the vehicle so that the spacecraft will be able to withstand a temperature of 1200 degrees Celsius when it re-enters the atmosphere.

After landing, the spacecraft will sink to the bottom of the sea. For now, ISRO has no plans for how to recover it. ISRO is considering seeking help of Indian Navy or Coast Guard in retrieving the shuttle.

The Rs.100 crore mission is undergoing final preparations at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.