AVATAR

AVATAR (Sanskrit) (from "Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace Transportation") is a single-stage reusable rocketplane capable of horizontal takeoff and landing, being developed by India's Defense Research and Development Organization along with Indian Space Research Organization and other research institutions; it could be used for cheaper military and civilian satellite launches.

When operational, it is planned to be capable of delivering a payload weighing up to 1,000 kg to low earth orbit. It would be the cheapest way to deliver material to space at about US$67/kg. Each craft is expected to withstand 100 launches.

The term SUPERSONIC is used to define a speed that is over the speed of sound (Mach 1). In dry air at 20 °C (68 °F), the threshold value required for an object to be traveling at a supersonic speed is approximately 343 m/s, (1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,236 km/h).

Speeds greater than 5 times the speed of sound are often referred to as HYPERSONIC. Speeds where only some parts of the air around an object (such as the ends of rotor blades) reach supersonic speeds are labeled transonic (typically somewhere between Mach 0.8 and Mach 1.2).