Modi congratulates scientists for launching space shuttle

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated the scientists for successfully launching India's maiden winged reusable launch vehicle (RLV) as a technology demonstrator.

"Launch of India's first indigenous space shuttle RLV-TD is the result of the industrious efforts of our scientists. Congrats to them," Modi said in a tweet.

"The dynamism and dedication with which our scientists and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) have worked over the years is exceptional and very inspiring," he said.

"We have successfully accomplished the RLV-TD mission. The lift-off was at 7.00 a.m. from the first launch pad here," ISRO director Devi Prasad Karnik told IANS after the shuttle returned to the Earth.

The 1.7-tonne RLV was launched from ISRO's spaceport here in Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km northeast of Chennai off the Bay of Bengal coast.