India Launches Uncrewed Test of Emergency Escape System for Gaganyaan Mission Successfully After Major Setback

India continues to make progress in its first-ever astronaut mission. The nation conducted an uncrewed test flight for the Gaganyaan mission on Saturday morning.

Uncrewed Test Flight For Gaganyaan Mission

The Asian nation tested the new crew capsule's emergency-escape system without any crew present on Oct. 21, demonstrating that the vehicle can separate from its rocket in the event of a launch-related issue. With the Gaganyaan trip to Earth orbit set for 2024, the spacecraft will be carrying astronauts for the first time.

The trial, dubbed TV-D1, lifted off with an unpressurized test version of the Gaganyaan crew module (CM) and its connected crew escape system (CES) at 12:30 a.m. EDT (0430 GMT; 10:00 a.m. local India time) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, located on the island of Sriharikota.

A single-stage, liquid-fueled rocket designed explicitly for this mission carried the spacecraft into orbit. The CM will launch India's potent Launch Vehicle Mark-3 rocket next year during the Gaganyaan orbital trip.

The CM-CES duo was supposed to disengage from its rocket at a height of roughly 7.5 miles (12 kilometers), after which the CES was supposed to activate its escape motors. The CM was to deploy parachutes and land softly in the water about 6 miles (10 km) off the coast of Sriharikota after the CM and CES separated from one another about 10.6 miles (17 km) above Earth.

According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the CM and CES successfully checked each box.

"TV D1 Test Flight is accomplished. Crew Escape System performed as intended. Mission Gaganyaan gets off on a successful note," ISRO wrote via X (formerly known as Twitter) shortly after the mission.

ISRO initially encountered a major setback when The TV-D1 rocket failed to lift off. The vehicle reportedly went on "hold" mode for five seconds. In a tweet, ISRO announced that the liftoff attempt couldn't be completed but assured fans that they would give an update. The organization later said they had identified and corrected the reason for the hold.

What Is Gaganyaan Mission?

Under the Gaganyaan mission, ISRO will send three humans to an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bring them back safely to Earth. The Bengaluru-based Astronaut Training Facility offers flight suits, simulators, physical fitness, and classroom instruction courses for the crew.

The Sanskrit word for a craft or flying machine inspired the mission's name. It took 90 billion dollars to develop it. If the mission is successful, India would be the fourth nation to launch a person into space, after the US, China, and the Soviet Union.

The project is completed using the best possible strategy, considering the internal knowledge, the experience of the Indian industry, the intellectual capacity of Indian academia & research institutes, and cutting-edge technologies offered by international agencies.

The Gaganyaan mission requires the development of several essential technologies, such as a human-rated launch vehicle for carrying the crew safely into space, a life support system to provide a familiar environment for the crew while they are in space, crew emergency escape plans, and evolving crew management strategies for crew training, recovery, and rehabilitation.

Before launching the real Human Space Flight mission, several precursor missions are planned to demonstrate the Technology Preparedness Levels. These demonstrator missions include Test Vehicle (TV) flights, Pad Abort Tests (PAT), and Integrated AirDrop Tests (IADT). Before the manned trip, unmanned missions will demonstrate the safety and dependability of all systems.

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