WHAT – Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel Test Facility/Also called S2

NEWS – Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) has successfully established and tested India’s first Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel Test Facility

HIGHLIGHTS

• 24-metre-long facility
• Located at IIT Kanpur
• India’s first Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel Test Facility
• Indigenously designed and developed over three years with funding and support from the Aeronautical Research and Development Board (ARDB), IIT Kanpur
• Generating flight speeds between 3-10 km/s
• Simulate hypersonic conditions encountered during the atmospheric entry of vehicles, asteroid entry, scramjet flights, and ballistic missiles
• Critical asset for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
• Serve as a testing ground for ongoing missions of ISRO and DRDO like Gaganyaan, Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV), and hypersonic cruise missiles, enabling the development of more advanced and reliable aerospace technologies