Gaganyaan Test

Context

1. In October, 2023 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully completed First Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) of Gaganyaan.

2.      Formally it is called “In-flight Abort Demonstration of Crew Escape System (CES)”.

 Mission Objectives

TV-D1 Test

1. The TV-D1 demonstrates the performance of the CES of the Gaganyaan project.

2. The flight is the first of two abort missions to test the safety mechanisms that will allow the Gaganyaan crew to leave the spacecraft in an emergency.

3. The Test Vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The payloads consist of the Crew Module (CM) and CES with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters.

Mechanism	Relevance
1.       The test exercise will see the rocket rise to an altitude of almost 17 km before an abort signal is triggered, leading to the separation of the crew module, which will descend using a parachute for a splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.	1.       It will demonstrate a basic version of the crew module — the capsule in which the astronauts will be seated during the Gaganyaan human space flight.
2.       The rocket, ISRO’s new, low-cost Test Vehicle, will reach a peak relative velocity of 363 metres/ second (about 1307 km/ hr) during the flight and the crew module will be empty for the test.	2.       The test will check the functioning of systems for separating the crew module from the rocket in case of a mid-flight emergency (abort mission) and the escape of astronauts.

Mission Highlights

TV Mission Pillbox	·       Mach 1.2 ·       Altitude 11.7km o ·       Flight path angle 60 ·       Dynamic Pressure 22.6kPa
CM-CES separation	·         Mach 0.5 ·       Altitude 17km ·       Dynamic pressure 2-3kPa
Drogue Parachute deployment	·       Altitude 16.7km
Main Parachute	·       Altitude < 2.5km

Crew Escape system

• Crew Escape system consists 5 types of quick acting solid motors namely: -

a)     Crew Escape System Jettisoning Motor (CJM)

b)     High-altitude Escape Motor (HEM)

c)      Low-altitude Escape Motor (LEM)

d)     Low-altitude Pitch Motor (LPM) and

e)      High-altitude Pitch Motor (HPM) with PEDCEM formulation, which generate required acceleration for varying mission requirements.

About Gaganyaan

1. It is India’s first human spaceflight mission.

2. It aims to launch a crew of 3 members to low earth orbit of 400km for three days.

3. India will become the fourth country to send a crewed spacecraft to space (after USA, Russia, and China).

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