Gaganyaan: Maiden crew module test tomorrow under ISRO's human space flight programme

In this test mission, ISRO is attempting a successful launch of its single-stage liquid rocket, Test Vehicle (TV-D1), scheduled to lift off from the launch pad at Sriharikota space centre at 8 am on October 21. The test flight can be watched LIVE from 7.30 am on October 21, 2023.

Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The maiden crew module test under ISRO's Gaganyaan human space flight programme will be held at the launch pad of the Sriharikota space centre, Andhra Pradesh, tomorrow. All is set for the single-stage liquid rocket, TV-D1), will be test launched on Saturday. The test flight can be watched LIVE from 7.30 am tomorrow, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Under this mission, the space agency aims to send humans into space to a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for three days and ensure their return back to earth safely. The test vehicle (TV-D1) will lift off from the first launch pad at Sriharikota at 8 am on Saturday. The Crew Module System is a human habitable space which is created with an Earth-like environment in space for the safety and survival of the crew.

The Test Vehicle mission with this Crew Module is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan programme as a nearly complete system is integrated for a flight test. "Crew Module (CM) is where the astronauts are contained in a pressurized earthlike atmospheric condition during the Gaganyaan mission," said ISRO.

The unpressurised Crew Module version has 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," according to ISRO.

The CM in this mission is considered to be extensively instrumented to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various mission systems. The Crew Module will touch down in the Bay of Bengal from where it will be recovered, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy. TV-D1 is the first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) under the Gaganyaan mission.

The test flight's success will help set the stage for the next qualification tests and unmanned missions that will eventually lead to the first Gaganyaan programme with Indian astronauts. The Test Vehicle Abort Mission will launch the Crew Escape Systems at an altitude of 17 km which are expected to make a safe touchdown in the sea, about 10 kms from the eastern coast of Sriharikota.