Indian 'Space Shuttle' Prepared For Launch

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA – MARCH 30: ISRO scientists and technicians work on India’s first re-usable Launch Vehicle (RLV) or 'Space Shuttle' as it sits in a laboratory at Vikram Sarabhai Space Center on March 30, 2016 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Made by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) India is preparing to undertake the maiden flight of the technology demonstrator, with a launch scheduled for May 23, 2016. Made by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) the technology demonstrator will lift off from India’s space port Sriharikota and then land on a virtual run way in the Bay of Bengal. The 1:6 scale model of the original space shuttle has a length of 6.5 meter and weighs 1750 kilograms and has been 15 years in the making, costing an estimated $25 million. The final Indian ’Space Shuttle' will be as long as 40 meters and would land on runway on Sriharikota. NASA's Space Shuttle had 135 launches and was retired in 2011, the Russian 'Space Shuttle' called BURAN flew only once. India's version is planned to carry ten tons of payload and will also ferry Indian astronauts into space in future. (Photo by Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images)