Maiden test flight of Gaganyaan mission to commence at 7 am on Oct 21: ISRO

Providing an update on Mission Gaganyaan, ISRO posted on X: "The TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for October 21, 2023 between 7 am and 9 am from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota."

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Monday said the test flight for Mission Gaganyaan is scheduled for October 21 morning from Sriharikota.

Providing an update on Mission Gaganyaan, ISRO posted on X: "The TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for October 21, 2023 between 7 am and 9 am from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota."

• Mission Gaganyaan:
  The TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for
  🗓️October 21, 2023
  🕛between 7 am and 9 am
  🚩from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota #Gaganyaan pic.twitter.com/7NbMC4YdYD

  — ISRO (@isro) October 16, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Mission Gaganyaan:
  The TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for
  🗓️October 21, 2023
  🕛between 7 am and 9 am
  🚩from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota #Gaganyaan pic.twitter.com/7NbMC4YdYD

  — ISRO (@isro) October 16, 2023

  ">

  Mission Gaganyaan:
  The TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for
  🗓️October 21, 2023
  🕛between 7 am and 9 am
  🚩from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota #Gaganyaan pic.twitter.com/7NbMC4YdYD

  — ISRO (@isro) October 16, 2023

The Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a human crew to an orbit of 400 km and bringing them safely back to the earth by landing in Indian sea waters. The test vehicle development flight (TV-D1) will be conducted at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh to test the crew module that is scheduled to house Indian astronauts during human spaceflight late next year.

Earlier this month, ISRO said it had initiated its preparation for the unmanned flight trials integral to the Gaganyaan mission. "Mission Gaganyaan: ISRO is set to initiate unmanned flight trials for the Gaganyaan mission. The Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) is primed for preparations, showcasing the Crew Escape System's functionality," the ISRO wrote in a post on X on October 7.

TV-D1 will demonstrate the performance of the Crew Escape System. According to ISRO, the Crew Module (CM) is where the astronauts are contained in a pressurised earth-like atmospheric condition during the Gaganyaan mission.

“The CM for the Gaganyaan mission is in different stages of development. For the TV-D1, the CM is an unpressurised version that has completed its integration and testing and is ready to be shipped to the launch complex. This unpressurised CM version has to have an overall size and mass of actual Gaganyaan CM. It houses all the systems for the deceleration and recovery. With its complete set of parachutes, recovery aids, actuation systems and pyros. The avionics systems in CM are in a dual redundant mode configuration for navigation, sequencing, telemetry, instrumentation and power. The CM in this mission is extensively instrumented to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various systems. The CM will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy,” ISRO said.