VISAKHAPATNAM: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday successfully carried out a qualification-level load test of the drogue parachute for India’s human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, at its Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility in Chandigarh.
According to a government statement issued on Thursday, the dynamic test simulated qualification-level loads higher than the maximum loads expected during flight, thereby validating the structural strength and safety margins of the parachute system.
“The test proves India’s expertise in designing and manufacturing of high strength ribbon parachutes,” read the statement.
Gaganyaan, led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), aims to send a crew of three astronauts to a low-Earth orbit of about 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them back safely to Earth.
The programme involves development of a human-rated launch vehicle, a crew module and service module, life-support systems, a crew escape mechanism and a complex recovery architecture.
Sources explained that the parachute system is a critical component of the recovery sequence. “After atmospheric re-entry, drogue parachutes are deployed to stabilise and slow down the descending crew module before the main parachutes are released for final deceleration ahead of splashdown in the sea,” said a source.
The four members currently selected for the Gaganyaan include Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (AC), Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair (KC), Group Captain Ajit Krishnan and Group Captain Angad Pratap.
DRDO has been associated with the development and testing of key parachute elements and crew safety systems for the mission. It has previously carried out multiple validation trials, including drogue and pilot parachute deployment tests, integrated parachute system drop tests and high-load simulations at the RTRS facility.
ISRO, meanwhile, has completed several major milestones under the Gaganyaan programme, including the Test Vehicle-D1 (TV-D1) mission to validate the Crew Escape System and various recovery trials of the crew module.