ISRO’s Gaganyaan Mission Successfully Tests for Crew Escape System

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a significant milestone on Saturday with the successful flight test of the crew escape system and crew module intended for the country’s human space mission, Gaganyaan, scheduled for 2025. The mission, known as Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), was aimed at demonstrating the crew escape system.

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath confirmed that the parachutes opened, and the crew module touched down in the Bay of Bengal at the required velocity. The module will be recovered by the Indian Navy ship and brought to Chennai Port for further study. Although the launch faced a brief delay due to weather conditions and a last-minute computer system non-conformance, the rocket ultimately lifted off and completed the mission in about nine minutes, with the entire flight sequence, from lift-off to touchdown, taking place within that time frame.

This test flight marks a significant step toward the upcoming Gaganyaan mission with Indian astronauts. The crew module used for this test was unpressurized, serving as a near-complete system for flight evaluation and performance assessment.