CHENNAI: After several delays, India's human space programme - Gaganyaan - is reaching its critical phase with the Indian space agency planning to launch the first unmanned test rocket in February next year.
S Somanath, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said India's heaviest rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk-3), also known as LVM3, will be used for the unmanned test flight and the crew module will land in the sea.
He was speaking to reporters on Saturday in Sriharikota after the successful launch of two Singaporean satellites - TeLEOS-2 and Lumilite-4 – onboard the rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
Prior to the February launch, a safety systems test will be done in June this year, where the rocket will go up to 12-14 km. "This is basically an abort test to check the safety parameters. For this purpose, we made a test rocket. The February launch will be a full-scale unmanned mission," Somanath told TNIE.
According to ISRO, the Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3 days mission and bringing them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.
Various precursor missions are planned for demonstrating the Technology Preparedness Levels before carrying out the actual Human Space Flight mission. These demonstrator missions include Integrated Air Drop Test, Pad Abort Test and Test Vehicle flights. Safety and reliability of all systems will be proven in unmanned missions preceding the manned mission.
So far, ISRO has completed Cryo Stage (C25) engine qualification tests, static tests of Crew Escape System and the integrated main parachute air drop test. among several other milestones. The test vehicle for characterization of Crew Escape System is also made ready at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-shar).