THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first space test mission of Gaganyaan, India's manned space mission, will take place today at 8 am in Sriharikota. The mission is to launch the modeled rocket and the tourist probe to a height of 17 km above the earth and bring it down safely. This is the first test of the crew escape system, a system that brings travelers to Earth safely in the event of an accident after the manned spacecraft reaches space. Four such experiments will be conducted. It is called Test Vehicle Abort Mission (TVD1).

The single-stage liquid rocket, crew module (CM) and crew escape system (CES) developed for the mission are used today. Trials of the drogue parachute, a part of the crew escape system, were completed at Chandigarh in August, two trials of the Service Module Propulsion System (SMPS) and one of the Service Module Propulsion System were completed at Mahendragiri in July. Gaganyaan will be launched in 2025.

Crew Escape System

Measurement intelligence will sense the rocket just before it explodes or crashes. Computers would detect it and separate the crew module from the main rocket and take it away using other rockets. After reaching the distance, the crew module will emerge and decelerate using a parachute and fall into the sea. Then the navy personnel will retrieve it.

Test

If the accident occurs when the speed of the rocket is equal to the speed of sound

If there is an accident at twice the speed of sound

If there is an accident while reaching space

If there is an accident while reaching the orbit at an altitude of 400 km

Experiment done like this

At 8 am, an ISRO-designed single-stage liquid rocket will lift off with the crew module. A non-pressurized version of the original crew module is used for this. The size and mass are equal. An abort mission is attempted when the rocket lifts off and reaches 1.2 times the speed of sound. 61 seconds after liftoff, the crew escape system will separate from the rocket booster. After 91 seconds, the crew module will separate. By then, the probe will reach an altitude of 16.9 km. Then it starts falling down. Two parachutes on the crew module will be deployed to control speed. As it descend further, the larger parachute will expand to low you down. At a distance of ten kilometers from Sriharikota, it will land safely in the Bay of Bengal with the help of a parachute. The Navy will retrieve the crew module and land it. The duration of the test is 532 seconds.