The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has initiated preparations for unmanned flight tests as a crucial step in the Gaganyaan mission, according to an announcement made by the agency on Saturday.
In a social media post shared on ISRO’s official account, it was stated, “Mission Gaganyaan: ISRO to commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission. Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are underway.”
ISRO has highlighted that the success of this test flight is pivotal as it will pave the way for subsequent qualification tests and unmanned missions, ultimately leading to the highly anticipated first Gaganyaan mission featuring Indian astronauts.
The agency provided details in a release regarding the First Crew Module for Gaganyaan test flight, confirming that the first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) is currently in the final stages of preparation.
This Test Vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket designed explicitly for this abort mission. It carries payloads including the Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape Systems (CES), equipped with fast-acting solid motors. Additionally, the Test Vehicle includes the CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters. The flight is intended to simulate an abort scenario during the ascent trajectory, corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2, a critical aspect of the Gaganyaan mission.
The Crew Module, post-integration, underwent a series of rigorous electrical tests at ISRO’s facility in Bengaluru, including an acoustic test, before being dispatched to SDSC-SHAR on August 13th, as stated in the release.
