Gaganyaan’s first test flight on October 21: Isro
The maiden test flight of an unmanned crew module of the Gaganyaan, India’s human space flight project, will be launched from Sriharikota in the morning of October 21, the Indian Space Research Organisation announced on Monday
The maiden test flight of an unmanned crew module of the Gaganyaan, India’s human space flight project, will be launched from Sriharikota in the morning of October 21, the Indian Space Research Organisation announced on Monday.
“Mission Gaganyaan: The TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for October 21, 2023 between 7 am and 9 am from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota. #Gaganyaan,” the agency posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), to be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, will demonstrate the performance of the crew escape system, the space agency said.
The test involves launching a crew module to outer space and bringing it back to earth and recovering it after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, science minister Jitendra Singh had said last week. It will be a crucial part of India’s Gaganyaan mission, resulting in unmanned and manned missions to outer space by 2024, he said.
“Indian Navy personnel have already started mock operations to recover the module,” Singh said at an event organised by a private news channel. “The success of this test will set the stage for the first unmanned Gaganyaan mission and ultimately manned mission to outer space in low earth orbit.”
Before India launches its first manned Gaganyaan mission, there will be a test flight next year that will carry Vyommitra, a female robot astronaut, the minister said.
The Gaganyaan project will demonstrate India’s human space flight capability by launching a crew of three astronauts to an orbit 400km above the earth’s surface for a three-day mission and bringing them back safely. The astronauts are currently undergoing training.
There will be multiple test flights before a manned mission. These demonstrator missions include an integrated air drop test, a pad abort test and test vehicle flights.
Isro had earlier said the first development flight, TV-D1, was in the final stages of preparation. The test vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission.
