Explainer | What is ISRO’s Gaganyaan Mission? Significance, launch date, other details
- Gaganyaan Mission: Critical phase begins for India's first Human Space Mission, Gaganyaan, with Test Vehicle Flight TV-D1 launch.
Moving one step closer to India’s first Human Space Mission, Gaganyaan, the critical phase will begin today (21 October) with the first Test Vehicle Flight TV-D1 from Sriharikota.
A single-stage liquid propulsion rocket, equipped with a Crew Module and Crew Escape System will be launched at 8 am on Saturday.
The test vehicle mission is aimed at studying the safety of the crew module and crew escape system in bringing Indian astronauts back to Earth in the eventual Gaganyaan mission.
Read LIVE updates on Gaganyaan Mission
All you need to know about ISRO's ambitious Gaganyaan Mission:
Under the Gaganyaan Mission, ISRO will be sending three humans to an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bring them back safely to Earth.
Crew training for Gaganyaan
Astronaut Training Facility established in Bengaluru caters to Classroom training, Physical Fitness training, Simulator training, and Flight suit training.
What is TV-D1 launch?
On Saturday, ISRO would attempt a successful launch of its Test Vehicle - Demonstration (TV-D1), the single-stage liquid propulsion rocket. The test vehicle mission with this crew module is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan programme as a nearly complete system is integrated for the test.
The success of this test flight would set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and uncrewed missions, leading to the first Gaganyaan programme.
Test Vehicle Abort Mission (TV-D1) will launch the crew escape system and crew module at an altitude of 17 km which are expected to make a safe touchdown in the sea, about 10 km from Sriharikota on India's eastern coast. They would later be retrieved by the Navy from the Bay of Bengal. Through this campaign, scientists aim to ensure the safety of the crew who would actually be sent in the crew module on an LVM-3 rocket during the Gaganyaan mission.
Gaganyaan project
Named after the Sanskrit word for craft or vehicle to the sky, the Gaganyaan project has been developed at the cost of ₹90 billion. If it succeeds, India will become only the fourth country to send a human into space after the Soviet Union, the US, and China.
If today's test goes to plan, Isro will then send a humanoid - a robot that resembles a human - in an unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft next year. Called Vyommitra - the Sanskrit word for "space friend" - the female humanoid was unveiled by Isro in 2019.
India's Rakesh Sharma spent 21 days and 40 minutes on a Russian spacecraft in space in 1984.
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Business NewsScienceNewsExplainer | What is ISRO’s Gaganyaan Mission? Significance, launch date, other details
First Published:21 Oct 2023, 07:43 AM IST
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