BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday announced the successful completion of a series of Crew Module (CM)- Service Module (SM) separation tests for the Gaganyaan mission.
The orbital module of the mission comprise of the CM and SM which are connected using the separation system. They are also important for the launch and re-entry into the orbit. They function as a single integrated module from launch till the completion of the on-orbit phase of the mission.
The ISRO officials said, “This provides necessary confidence in the functioning of the implemented CM-SM separation system for the upcoming first uncrewed Gaganyaan Mission (G1) mission which is targeted for launch in 2026.”
The officials added, prior to commencing re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere, the CM is separated from the SM. The separation of CM from SM involves multiple precisely sequenced separation events involving pyrotechnic devices and jettisoning systems.
For validating the overall design adequacy of the separation system, a test startup was realised at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.. The overall assembly with extensive instrumentation was also done at the Centre.
The officials in the release here said, the tests simulated the scenario of CM-SM separation involving the severing of several umbilical connections between the CM and the SM. Apart from validating the design adequacy, the tests have also demonstrated robustness and shock-survivability of various critical subsystems in the CM.