ISRO Wants To Test Crew Abort System For Gaganyaan Mission, First One To Happen Early Next Year

In order to establish crew abort and escape systems using the specially designed test vehicle (rocket) this year, ISRO is working towards carrying out at least two test missions. According to a Times of India report, the first uncrewed mission is expected early next year. The space agency will also look to launch the first of the two relay satellites for the mission.

On the special test vehicle designed to evaluate critical abort technologies, Isro chairman S Somanath told Times of India, ¡°Whenever a new agency develops a human-rated space capability, they go through various tests for building such capability. Before the real human-rated vehicle flies we have to fly the critical aspects of this technology in a low-cost option. The full GSLV-Mk3 being launched for an abort mission is not economical, therefore, we looked to test the whole abort capabilities using a low-cost option. The US has already shown this during Apollo.¡±

ISRO

¡°But let¡¯s make no mistake. This (test vehicle) is a brand new rocket with its own control systems, design and aerodynamics. We went through the design and development phase, hardware realisation is done, we¡¯ve almost completed all qualifications and many numbers are already in store,¡± Somanath added.

TOI

Now, ISRO is preparing for missions using this rocket. The crew escape system hardware is undergoing testing.

¡°Together, we¡¯ll be carrying out a mission soon with these two systems and the test vehicle. We don¡¯t want to delay that. Our target is to do the first one in the middle of 2022 to demonstrate the first of abort conditions. This means we¡¯ll intentionally cause an anomaly and allow the crew module to come out of it, do the tumbling manoeuvres, deploy the parachutes, and land in a designated spot on the sea before being recovered,¡± Somanath explained.

ISRO

There are different events ¡ª maximum dynamic pressure condition, maximum acceleration condition, some transient condition etc ¡ª in which abort will become critical in flight. ¡°Several such conditions exist but we¡¯ll select the most crucial and critical conditions that control the design, in which abort will be tested before qualifying the entire crew escape system. While we have a programme to realise four test vehicles, the number of missions we are planning before the first uncrewed mission is two,¡± Somanath added.

ISRO

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