Unmanned Space Vehicle
Unmanned Space Vehicle or USV is a truly interesting concept, its like an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for space. The idea of USV have been around for very long time, especially during the Space Race era between the United States and Soviet Union. In fact the Soyuz spacecraft which was meant for Soviet Lunar mission was autonomous and ground controlled even it carried human passengers on board. These days the cost of space access is a major concern, therefore many organizations and private companies are trying very hard to revolutionise the way we fly to space at relatively lower cost. Hence the idea of a Space Plane was born which is classified as an Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). In 2004, the winner of Ansari X-Prize successfully flown their Space Plane reaching to an altitude of 100km. The space plane idea could potentially spark a whole new breed of unmanned systems, besides the conventional UAV's we hear everytime. Obviously the USV is not directly simple as building an UAV, but the concept of developing USV is there, alot we could learn from the current UAV technology. Among the other problems faced will be Data Link Communications and Airworthiness Certification before it can legally take off the ground and soar into space.







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