Indigenously developed parachutes for the safe return of the capsule that will carry astronauts under the proposed Gaganyaan programme are set to undergo fitment tests at an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facility in Bengaluru.
The Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), the Agra-based laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed the parachutes for India’s manned space flight programme, Gaganyaan, which envisages putting a crew of three astronauts in low-earth orbit.
On Saturday, the flight unit of the parachutes was flagged off from ADRDE to the ISRO Satellite Integration and Testing Establishment in Bengaluru.
“The first test demonstration is likely to take place in July this year, with the first unmanned mission to be undertaken only after the success of two such demonstrations,” the ADRDE said in a statement. The Test Vehicle Demonstration (TVD-1) flight will be a significant milestone toward realising the nation’s ambitious Gaganyaan programme, it stated.
The parachute configuration consists of 10 parachutes. During flight the sequence starts with deployment of two parachutes of “apex cover separation parachute”, which is protection cover for the crew module parachute compartment, followed by two more of “drogue parachute deployment” to stabilise and bring down the velocity. Upon the drogue parachute release, three parachutes of the “pilot parachute” system will be used to extract three parachutes of the “main parachute” individually, to reduce the speed of the crew module to safe levels during its landing, the statement explained.
Stating that each parachute’s performance must be evaluated by complex testing methods, the ADRDE said that individual parachutes have undergone sub-system level testing.
In December 2022, Minister of State in Space and Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh informed Parliament that India’s maiden human space flight ‘H1’ mission is targeted to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, the Minister said that in view of the paramount importance of crew safety, two test vehicle missions are planned before the ‘G1’ mission to demonstrate the performance of crew escape system and parachute-based deceleration system for different flight conditions.
“The uncrewed ‘G1’ mission is targeted to be launched in the last quarter of 2023 followed by the second uncrewed ‘G2’ mission in the second quarter of 2024, before the final human space flight ‘H1’ mission in the fourth quarter of 2024,” he stated.
He added that the first uncrewed flight ‘G1’ mission is aimed at validating the performance of human-rated launch vehicle, orbital module propulsion system, mission management, communication system and recovery operations. The mission will carry a humanoid as payload.
The astronaut-designates for the human space flight mission are currently undergoing their mission-specific training at Bengaluru with the second semester of crew training currently underway. The first semester of astronaut training included modules on theoretical basics, space medicine, launch vehicles, spacecraft system and ground support infrastructure. Regular physical fitness sessions, aeromedical training and flying practice are also part of crew training. Corresponding evaluation and assessment activities have also been completed.
