Isro Conducts First Air-Drop Test For Gaganyaan
Critical milestone achieved in validating crew module’s safe recovery mechanism for India’s first human spaceflight mission
Bengaluru: India on Sunday successfully carried out the first integrated air drop test (IADT-01) to validate the parachute-based deceleration system — which will bring astronauts safely back to Earth on their return from space — for the Gaganyaan mission. The end-to-end demonstration was conducted near Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The parachute-based deceleration mechanism is a key component to ensure the safe recovery of the crew module during re-entry and landing.
The air drop test involves an IAF helicopter dropping the capsule — unpressurised crew module — from an altitude of 3.6 km to 4 km to validate the deceleration system comprising the pyrotechnics systems and parachutes.
The exercise was jointly executed by Isro, the Indian Air Force, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.
The Gaganyaan project — India’s first human spaceflight programme — aims to send humans into space and safely bring them to Earth. This project will also involve the launch of precursor unmanned missions to test systems critical for crew safety.
On its return journey, the spacecraft gradually slows down when it enters the atmosphere at about 25,000 kmph. Subsequently, pyrotechnics are fired to open the parachutes at a predetermined altitude and speed. The parachutes slow down the descent of the capsule for its eventual landing.
Next in the line of tests will be test vehicle missions, pad abort tests, unmanned flights, the initial missions carrying Vyommitra, a half-humanoid robot, which will perform crucial tests in space, and then the actual manned flight.
