Gaganyaan mission update: ISRO successfully tests engine, set to take Indian astronauts to space, gives ‘human rating’

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully tested the cryogenic engine for the unmanned Gaganyaan (G1) mission on Wednesday (February 21) that will be the first to take Indian astronauts to space, marking a leap forward to accomplishing the mission.

ISRO's Gaganyaan mission cleared another hurdle as the space agency announced that the upcoming mission CE20 cryogenic engine is ‘human-rated’ now and will power the upper stage of the LVM3 vehicle. The space agency in a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) tweeted, "ISRO's CE20 cryogenic engine is now human-rated for Gaganyaan missions. Rigorous testing demonstrates the engine’s mettle. The CE20 engine identified for the first uncrewed flight LVM3 G1 also went through acceptance tests."

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The ISRO in a press statement said, “ISRO has accomplished a major milestone in the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine that powers the cryogenic stage of the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle for Gaganyaan missions, with the completion of the final round of ground qualification tests on February 13, 2024.”

The release further stated, "The final test was the seventh of a series of vacuum ignition tests carried out at the High Altitude Test Facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, to simulate the flight conditions."

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Scientists simulated flight conditions at the High Altitude Test Facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri. This test marks the seventh of the series of vacuum ignition tests that have been conducted so far.

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What is Gaganyaan mission?  

The mission tentatively scheduled for Q2 of 2024, aims to launch a crew of three members into an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them back safely to Earth by landing in Indian sea waters.

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The mission has been named after the Sanskrit word for craft or vehicle to the sky. The Gaganyaan project's cost is about ₹90 billion. India will become the fourth country in the world to send a human into space after the Soviet Union, the US, and China if the mission succeeds.