Two-hour long maiden test flight of Gaganyaan mission to commence at 7 am on October 21  

ISRO to conduct Gaganyaan mission's Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) on Oct 21. CM unpressurised version ready for launch. TV-D1 to simulate abort condition during ascent trajectory. CM to be recovered from Bay of Bengal. Success of test flight to set stage for remaining qualification tests & unmanned missions. Gaganyaan mission to launch 3 crew members to low earth orbit & bring them back safely. Astronauts undergoing crew & mission-specific training in Bengaluru.

The Gaganyaan mission’s Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) will take place between 7 am and 9 am on October 21 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

“Mission Gaganyaan: The TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for October 21, 2023 between 7 am and 9 am  from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota,” the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) posted on X (formerly Twitter).

TV-D1 will demonstrate the performance of the Crew Escape System.

According to ISRO, the Crew Module (CM) is where the astronauts are contained in a pressurised earth-like atmospheric condition during the Gaganyaan mission.

“The CM for the Gaganyaan mission is in different stages of development. For the TV-D1, the CM is an unpressurised version that has completed its integration and testing and is ready to be shipped to the launch complex. This unpressurised CM version has to have an overall size and mass of actual Gaganyaan CM. It houses all the systems for the deceleration and recovery. With its complete set of parachutes, recovery aids, actuation systems and pyros. The avionics systems in CM are in a dual redundant mode configuration for navigation, sequencing, telemetry, instrumentation and power. The CM in this mission is extensively instrumented to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various systems. The CM will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy,” ISRO said.

It added that the TV-D1 is in the final stages of preparation.

“The Test Vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The payloads consist of the CM and Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters. This flight will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission. CES with CM 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 CM in the sea, about 10 km from the coast of Sriharikota,” it added.