
BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) dispatched the crew module for the first uncrewed Gaganyaan (G1) mission after successfully integrating it with the liquid propulsion system on January 21, 2024. The crew module was dispatched to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
The liquid propulsion system, called the Crew Module Propulsion System (CMPS), is a bi-propellant-based Reaction Control System (RCS) and is meant for pitch, yaw and roll (a precise three-axis control) of the crew module.
The control will be initiated following separation of service module during the descent and atmospheric re-entry phase until the deployment of parachute-based deceleration system. The system employs twelve 100N thrusters, pressurisation system with high pressure gas bottles and the propellant feed system along with the associated fluid control components, ISRO said.
The Crew Module Uprighting System (CMUS), designed by VSSC, was also integrated with the crew module at LPSC. The crew module will undergo further integration operations at the VSSC before it is sent to the UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru for the final phase of integration of the orbital module.
Gaganyaan-G1 — expected to be launched in early part of this year — and the subsequent two uncrewed missions Gaganyaan-G2 and G3 will lead to India’s maiden human spaceflight. These uncrewed missions will mimic the actual crewed mission right from lift-off to the end of mission to validate the mission capabilities, safety parameters and critical technologies, including that of the Human-rated Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (HLVM3).