GSLV Mark-III and RLV-TD

India's next-generation rocket, the GSLV Mark-III is being prepared for a suborbital launch test which may take place early next year. This is the rocket that will send India's first astronauts into space:

The suborbital test will only validate the lower stages, and will not involve the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage that previously failed. The corrected CUS will first be validated through a separate launch of the GSLV-Mk2.


On a related note, the Launch Vehicle Design Group at ISRO has released a video describing the planned initial flight experiment for the Reusable Launch Vehicle Test Demonstrator (RLV-TD). The RLV-TD will serve as an experimental testbed for evaluating technologies to be used in a further generation of reusable launch vehicles. This test flight should also be happening sometime next year.