[5] In 2006 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) performed a series of ground tests to demonstrate stable supersonic combustion for nearly 7 seconds with an inlet Mach number of 6.

[8] In January 2012, ISRO announced that a scaled prototype, called Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), was approved to be built and tested.

[10] By May 2015, engineers at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station were installing thermal tiles on the outer surface of the RLV-TD to protect it against the intense heat during atmospheric reentry.

[11] This prototype weighs around 1.5 tonnes and flew to an altitude of 65 km[11] mounted on top of an expendable solid booster HS9.

[16] In February 2024, IIT Kanpur built and evaluated the Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel Test Facility, referred to as S2, in the Department of Aerospace Engineering's Hypersonic Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory (HEAL).

[29] The aerodynamic characterization research was conducted at the National Aerospace Laboratories' 1.2m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility.

[30] In January 2006, ISRO completed the design, development and tests of scramjet (supersonic ramjet) at its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

On 3 March 2010, ISRO successfully conducted the flight test of its new sounding rocket ATV-D01 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

It burnt fuel for five seconds, an important milestone in the development of Dual Mode Ramjet (DMR) under Air Breathing Propulsion Project.

The design and development of a hypersonic engine air intake, a supersonic combustor, materials that can withstand extremely high temperatures, computational tools for simulating hypersonic flow, proper thermal management, and ground testing of the engines are just a few of the technological challenges that ISRO has successfully overcome.

[34][35] On 23 July 2024, ISRO effectively concluded the second experimental flight demonstration of air breathing propulsion technology.

Air Breathing Propulsion systems were symmetrically placed on both sides of the Rohini RH-560 sounding rocket used in the experiment.

[2][37][38] RLV-TD consists of a fuselage (body), a nose cap, double delta wings and twin vertical rudders.

TDV uses 600 or so heat resistant silica tiles and Flexible External Insulation, nose-cap is made out Carbon-Carbon composite with SiC coating.

Critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance & control, reusable thermal protection system, and descent mission management were validated in this flight.

[55] The vehicle had to correct both cross-range and down-range deviations before landing autonomously on the runway due to the experiment's more difficult manoeuvres and dispersions.

[56] The vehicle used its nosewheel steering system, landing gear brakes, and drogue parachute to help it come to a precise halt on the runway after making the required cross-range modifications.

Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC), ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, and the Indian Air Force worked together with the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), and other agencies to complete the mission.

Validation of the sophisticated guidance system that addresses both lateral and longitudinal plane error corrections which is necessary for the next Orbital Return Flight Experiment.

[11][63][64] The OREX will launch on a GSLV rocket with PS-4 stage instead of its CUS upper stages (due to decreased performance unlike a regular GSLV launch) and Orbital Re-entry vehicle (ORV) in place of its ogive payload fairing and re-enter the earth's atmosphere for a landing to demonstrate the viability of the project.