Gaganyaan To Launch First Test Flight On October 21: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to conduct the Test Development Flight Mission-1 (TV-D1), alternatively referred to as the Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1.

ISRO, in an official mission update posted on X (formerly Twitter), has specified that the launch window for this mission is between 7 am and 9 am IST.

The test will be conducted at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota and is intended to test the 'crew module ' or the part of vehicle where the Indian astronauts will be housed.

Crew Module (CM) is where the astronauts are contained in a pressurized earth like atmospheric condition during the Gaganyaan mission. The CM for the Gaganyaan mission is in different stages of development. For the Test Vehicle Abort mission-1 (TV-D1), the CM is an unpressurised version that has completed its integration and testing and is ready to be shipped to the launch complex. This unpressurised CM version has to have an overall size and mass of actual Gaganyaan CM. It houses all the systems for the deceleration and recovery. With its complete set of parachutes, recovery aids actuation systems and pyros.

The avionics systems in CM are in a dual redundant mode configuration for navigation, sequencing, telemetry, instrumentation and power. The CM in this mission is extensively instrumented to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various systems. The Crew Module will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy.