HELSINKI — India took a step towards independent human spaceflight capabilities early Saturday with a successful uncrewed emergency escape system test.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a liquid-propellant single-stage Test Vehicle Demonstration 1 (TV-D1) from Satish Dhawan Space Center at 12:30 a.m. Eastern, Oct. 21.
The test vehicle launched the unpressurized test version of the Gaganyaan crew module (CM). The Crew Escape System (CES) separated from the test vehicle 61 seconds after liftoff at an altitude of 11.9 kilometers, traveling just beyond the speed of sound.
The CM separated from the CES at 16.9 km while traveling at 550 kilometers per hour. A drogue parachute was then deployed to slow descent of the CM.
The CM descended into the ocean using its primary parachute once below 2.5 km. The CM was then recovered by teams within the Bay of Bengal, around 10 km off the island of Sriharikota.
“I’m very comfortable to announce the successful accomplishment of the TV-D1 mission,” S Somanath, ISRO chairman, said after the launch.
The test verified that motors can safely carry a crew away from the launch vehicle within the case of emergency. A primary attempt went right into a hold five seconds out from the scheduled launch time triggered by sensor data from the launch vehicle.
India hopes to launch its Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission in 2025, following further tests. This includes three uncrewed orbital test flights of the Gaganyaan Crew Module starting in 2024.
A successful crewed mission would see the nation join Russia, the USA and China because the only countries to have achieved independent human spaceflight capabilities. Astronauts are already in training for the mission.
ISRO has suffered quite a few delays within the Gaganyaan program. It stated in 2018, following announcement of this system, that it planned its first uncrewed launch for December 2020. The outbreak of COVID-19 added to struggles to follow the schedule.
The Saturday test nevertheless follows a series of successes and policy shifts in 2023. India became the fourth country to soft-land on the moon on Aug. 23 with its Chandrayaan-3 mission. The successful launch of Aditya-L1, India’s first solar observatory, followed Sept. 2. The spacecraft is currently heading to Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1.
India Prime Minister this week announced the goal of 2040 to get astronauts onto the moon. It also plans an area station around 2035. The country also goals to make itself an area industry hub following reforms this yr to permit greater space for industrial endeavors and foreign investment within the space sector.