Gaganyaan mission is scheduled to be launched in 2025.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday posted details about Gaganyaan mission's Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) on X (formerly Twitter). The space agency said that the test is scheduled for October 21 (Saturday) at 8am and the vehicle will be launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The ISRO post further said that it will be a "short-duration mission". It further informed that registration to witness the launch will commence at 6pm on Tuesday. TV-D1 will demonstrate the performance of the crew escape system.
The Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of ISRO's human spaceflight capability by launching a human crew to an orbit of 400 km and bringing them safely back to earth.
According to ISRO website, the crew module for the Gaganyaan mission is in different stages of development. For TV-D1, the crew module is an unpressurised version.
It houses all the systems for the deceleration and recovery, with its complete set of parachutes, recovery aids actuation systems and pyros, the website further said.
ISRO said that the crew module will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy.
About TV-D1
The space agency said that the test vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for abort mission. The payloads consist of the crew module and crew escape systems with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing and interface adapters.
The flight will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission.
The crew escape system with crew module will be separated from the test vehicle at an altitude of about 17 km. Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of the crew module in the sea, about 10 km from the coast of Sriharikota, said ISRO.