New Delhi, 16 Sha'ban,1437 AH, 23 May,2016 , SPA -- India's space agency successfully tested a reusable launch vehicle on Monday, a step towards creating its own space shuttle programme, dpa reported. A rocket carrying the Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology-Demonstrator (RLV-TD) took off from the Sriharikota spaceport in south India at 7 am local time (0130 GMT), and released it at an altitude of 70 kilometres, Indian Space Research Organisation spokesman DP Karnik said. The winged RLV then made a 180-degree manoeuvre before re-entering the atmosphere for a controlled splashdown in the Bay of Bengal. "The mission has been accomplished successfully," Karnik said. The trial version of the shuttle had a diameter of about one metre, many times smaller than the actual design. India spent around 14 million dollars and took five years to develop the first flight model for the programme, broadcaster NDTV reported. -- SPA 10:32 LOCAL TIME 07:32 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w