ISRO achieves successful test launch and recovery of Gaganyaan mission crew module, advancing India’s inaugural human space flight project.
The conducted test simulated an emergency situation to verify the crew module’s safe detachment from the test vehicle and ocean landing capabilities. ISRO’s upcoming objectives include an unmanned Gaganyaan mission launch in early 2024 and a manned mission anticipated around 2025.
ISRO achieves successful launch and recovery of Gaganyaan mission’s test vehicle with crew module, marking a significant milestone for India’s inaugural human space flight endeavor.
For the test, scientists simulated an abort situation for the Crew Escape System to carry the crew module out of the first test vehicle development flight (TV-D1), the space agency said in a statement.
“Mission Gaganyaan: TV-D1 Test Flight is accomplished. Crew Escape System performed as intended. Mission Gaganyaan gets off on a successful note,” ISRO said.
The test essentially involved launching the empty crew module and creating an emergency situation to test that in the event of an actual contingency, the module is capable of removing itself effectively and landing safely into the sea, from where it can be recovered.
Saturday’s test was the first of many that the agency will perform as it prepares for a manned mission to space around 2025, agency chief S Somanath said.
‘I am very happy to announce the successful accomplishment of the TV-D1 mission… The vehicle has gone up to a Mach number, which is slightly above the speed of sound and initiated an abort condition for the crew escape to function,’ Somanath said. Mach 1 is equal to about 1,200 km per hour.
ISRO targets the first half of 2024 for the unmanned flight launch within the Gaganyaan mission, as indicated by Somanath.
The Gaganyaan mission aims to develop a human-habitable space capsule for a three-member crew, enabling an orbit of 400km lasting three days, with a subsequent splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
After the successful launch, the module utilized parachutes for a safe splashdown in the Bay of Bengal, as confirmed by the space agency. Somanath subsequently announced the complete recovery of the crew module from the sea, with its transportation to Chennai port.
‘Eastern Naval Command units recovered the Crew Module — a path paved by extensive planning, training of Naval divers, formulation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and joint communication by combined teams of Navy and ISRO,’ the Indian Navy said in a statement in the evening.
The crew module serves as the pressurized, earth-like atmospheric enclosure for the astronauts during the Gaganyaan mission. According to ISRO, the crew module used for the 34.9-meter-tall rocket TV-D1 was an unpressurized variant.
