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BENGALURU: In a significant development for India’s space endeavours, the PMO Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress of the Gaganyaan — India’s first human spaceflight mission — and to chart the future course of the country’s space exploration ambitions.
During the meeting, the Department of Space (DoS) presented a comprehensive overview of Gaganyaan, highlighting key technologies such as human-rated launch vehicles and system qualification.
Notably, plans for approximately 20 major tests, including three uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3), were discussed. The first demonstration flight of the Crew Escape System (CES) using a specially designed test vehicle — the TV-D1 — is scheduled for October 21.
“The meeting evaluated the mission’s readiness, affirming its launch in 2025,” the PMO said, adding that the PM also set more ambitious goals, building on the successes of previous Indian space initiatives, including Chandrayaan-3 and the Aditya L1 Missions.
He directed DoS to work toward establishing the Indian Space Station by 2035 and sending the first Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
To turn these visions into reality, DoS is tasked with developing a roadmap for Moon exploration. This roadmap includes a series of Chandrayaan missions, the creation of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), the construction of a new launch pad, the establishment of human-centric laboratories, and the development of associated technologies.
In addition to lunar exploration, the PM called upon Indian scientists to focus on interplanetary missions, which may include a Venus Orbiter Mission and a Mars Lander.
Isro, as part of preparations for Gaganyaan, will attempt the first test vehicle abort mission or TV-D1 between 7am and 9am on Saturday (October 21). It will use the special test vehicle designed specifically as part of the human space programme.
Unlike the actual Gaganyaan mission that envisages sending humans to space and bringing them back safely, the TV-D1 will see Isro use an unpressurised crew module (CM) which has completed its integration and testing.
This unpressurised CM will have an overall size and mass of actual Gaganyaan CM and will house all the systems for the deceleration and recovery, including parachutes, recovery aids, actuation systems and pyros.
The avionics systems are in a dual redundant mode configuration for navigation, sequencing, telemetry, instrumentation and power, Isro said. The CM for TV-D1 has been designed to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various systems.
It will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy.
According to Isro, the TV-D1 is in the final stages of preparation. “The test vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The payloads are the CM and the crew escape systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and interface adapters,” Isro said.
The mission will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 (1,482 kmph) expected to be encountered in the Gaganyaan mission. The CES with CM will be separated from the Test Vehicle at an altitude of about 17km.
“Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of CM in the sea, about 10km from the coast of Sriharikota,” Isro said.
The CM after integration underwent various electrical testing, at Isro’s facility in Bengaluru, including an acoustic test and was dispatched to the spaceport in Sriharikota on August 13.
At the spaceport, it will undergo vibration tests and pre-integration with the CES, before final integration to the Test Vehicle at the launch pad.
“This test vehicle mission with this CM is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan programme as a near-complete system is integrated for a flight test. The success of this test flight will set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions, leading to the first Gaganyaan mission with Indian astronauts,” Isro added.
During the meeting, the Department of Space (DoS) presented a comprehensive overview of Gaganyaan, highlighting key technologies such as human-rated launch vehicles and system qualification.
Notably, plans for approximately 20 major tests, including three uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3), were discussed. The first demonstration flight of the Crew Escape System (CES) using a specially designed test vehicle — the TV-D1 — is scheduled for October 21.
“The meeting evaluated the mission’s readiness, affirming its launch in 2025,” the PMO said, adding that the PM also set more ambitious goals, building on the successes of previous Indian space initiatives, including Chandrayaan-3 and the Aditya L1 Missions.
He directed DoS to work toward establishing the Indian Space Station by 2035 and sending the first Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
To turn these visions into reality, DoS is tasked with developing a roadmap for Moon exploration. This roadmap includes a series of Chandrayaan missions, the creation of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), the construction of a new launch pad, the establishment of human-centric laboratories, and the development of associated technologies.
In addition to lunar exploration, the PM called upon Indian scientists to focus on interplanetary missions, which may include a Venus Orbiter Mission and a Mars Lander.
Isro, as part of preparations for Gaganyaan, will attempt the first test vehicle abort mission or TV-D1 between 7am and 9am on Saturday (October 21). It will use the special test vehicle designed specifically as part of the human space programme.
Unlike the actual Gaganyaan mission that envisages sending humans to space and bringing them back safely, the TV-D1 will see Isro use an unpressurised crew module (CM) which has completed its integration and testing.
This unpressurised CM will have an overall size and mass of actual Gaganyaan CM and will house all the systems for the deceleration and recovery, including parachutes, recovery aids, actuation systems and pyros.
The avionics systems are in a dual redundant mode configuration for navigation, sequencing, telemetry, instrumentation and power, Isro said. The CM for TV-D1 has been designed to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various systems.
It will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy.
According to Isro, the TV-D1 is in the final stages of preparation. “The test vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The payloads are the CM and the crew escape systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and interface adapters,” Isro said.
The mission will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 (1,482 kmph) expected to be encountered in the Gaganyaan mission. The CES with CM will be separated from the Test Vehicle at an altitude of about 17km.
“Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of CM in the sea, about 10km from the coast of Sriharikota,” Isro said.
The CM after integration underwent various electrical testing, at Isro’s facility in Bengaluru, including an acoustic test and was dispatched to the spaceport in Sriharikota on August 13.
At the spaceport, it will undergo vibration tests and pre-integration with the CES, before final integration to the Test Vehicle at the launch pad.
“This test vehicle mission with this CM is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan programme as a near-complete system is integrated for a flight test. The success of this test flight will set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions, leading to the first Gaganyaan mission with Indian astronauts,” Isro added.
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