Mission Gaganyaan: Isro to start testing unmanned flight for its human spaceflight to space
Gaganyaan: Taking to X, the space agency said that the preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) are underway.
- Oct 7, 2023,
- Updated Oct 7, 2023 11:44 AM IST
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday announced that it will start testing its unmanned flight for its next space mission, Gaganyaan. Taking to X, the space agency said that the preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) are underway.
Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters, Isro has said.
"ISRO to commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission. Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are underway," ISRO said on X.
The LVM3 rocket, the heavy lift launcher of Isro, has been identified as the launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission. It consists of the solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage.
All systems in LVM3 are re-configured to meet human rating requirements and christened Human Rated LVM3 (HLVM3).
Explaining the mission, Isro said the first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) is in the final stages of preparation. The Test Vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The payloads consist of the Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters. This flight will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission.
"CES with CM will be separated from the Test Vehicle at an altitude of about 17 km. Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of CM in the sea, about 10 km from the coast of Sriharikota," Isro said in an explanatory note.
The Crew Module after integration underwent various electrical testing, at ISRO’s facility in Bengaluru, including an acoustic test and was dispatched to SDSC-SHAR on 13th August. At SDSC, it will undergo vibration tests and pre-integration with the Crew Escape System, before final integration to the Test Vehicle at the Launch Pad.
"This Test Vehicle mission with this CM is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan programas a near-complete system is integrated for a flight test. The success of this test flight will set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions, leading to the first Gaganyaan mission with Indian Astronauts," Isro further said.
Two days back, Isro said it is planning to undertake an inflight abort test of the crew escape system by the end of this month using a test vehicle developed as part of Gaganyaan.
According to Isro officials, this month's launch of the test vehicle TV-D1 would be the first of the four abort missions of the Gaganyaan programme. It would be followed by the second test vehicle TV-D2 mission and first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan (LVM3-G1).
Also read: Mangalyaan-2: ISRO working on the second mission to Mars nine years after MOM’s success
Also watch: Ahead of ISRO's Shukrayaan mission to Venus, researchers discover long-guarded secret of the planet
Also watch: Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1, Gaganyaan, Mangalyaan-2, and more: Here's the status of various ISRO missions
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday announced that it will start testing its unmanned flight for its next space mission, Gaganyaan. Taking to X, the space agency said that the preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) are underway.
Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters, Isro has said.
"ISRO to commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission. Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are underway," ISRO said on X.
The LVM3 rocket, the heavy lift launcher of Isro, has been identified as the launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission. It consists of the solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage.
All systems in LVM3 are re-configured to meet human rating requirements and christened Human Rated LVM3 (HLVM3).
Explaining the mission, Isro said the first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) is in the final stages of preparation. The Test Vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The payloads consist of the Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters. This flight will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission.
"CES with CM will be separated from the Test Vehicle at an altitude of about 17 km. Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of CM in the sea, about 10 km from the coast of Sriharikota," Isro said in an explanatory note.
The Crew Module after integration underwent various electrical testing, at ISRO’s facility in Bengaluru, including an acoustic test and was dispatched to SDSC-SHAR on 13th August. At SDSC, it will undergo vibration tests and pre-integration with the Crew Escape System, before final integration to the Test Vehicle at the Launch Pad.
"This Test Vehicle mission with this CM is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan programas a near-complete system is integrated for a flight test. The success of this test flight will set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions, leading to the first Gaganyaan mission with Indian Astronauts," Isro further said.
Two days back, Isro said it is planning to undertake an inflight abort test of the crew escape system by the end of this month using a test vehicle developed as part of Gaganyaan.
According to Isro officials, this month's launch of the test vehicle TV-D1 would be the first of the four abort missions of the Gaganyaan programme. It would be followed by the second test vehicle TV-D2 mission and first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan (LVM3-G1).
Also read: Mangalyaan-2: ISRO working on the second mission to Mars nine years after MOM’s success
Also watch: Ahead of ISRO's Shukrayaan mission to Venus, researchers discover long-guarded secret of the planet
Also watch: Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1, Gaganyaan, Mangalyaan-2, and more: Here's the status of various ISRO missions