NB Explains | ISRO gear ups for Gaganyaan mission’s first test; know the timing
20 Oct 2023 12:55:55
The launch of a single-stage liquid rocket on Saturday will signal ISRO's journey towards its ambitious human space flight programme, Gaganyaan when the first crew module test to ensure the safety of astronauts will be conducted by the space agency here.
The aim of ISRO's Gaganyaan Programme is to launch astronauts to an orbit of 400 kilometres, and bring them back safely to Earth by landing them in Indian sea waters, in order to demonstrate human spaceflight capability.
Unlike other missions by the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency, ISRO would attempt a successful launch of its Test Vehicle (TV-D1), a single-stage liquid rocket, scheduled to lift off from the first launch pad at this spaceport at 8 am on October 21.
You can watch the launch here:
As part of the TV-D1 mission, the crew module (in which astronauts will be carried to outer space during the crewed mission) will be sent to outer space, and then recovered after splashing down in the Bay of Bengal. A diving team from the Indian Navy will use a dedicated vessel to recover the crew module.
Unlike the crew module that will carry astronauts to outer space during the crewed missions, the crew module that will be used during the test development flight mission will be unpressurised, and will not simulate a pressurised Earth-like atmospheric condition.
The size and mass of the crew module to be used for the test vehicle abort mission-1 are the same as those of the crew module that will be used during the crewed missions of the Gaganyaan programme. All the systems for the deceleration and recovery of the crew module are also present inside the vehicle.
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