One of the four astronauts undergoing training for the Gaganyaan mission will travel to the International Space Station as part of a collaborative effort with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Union Minister Jitendra Singh has informed the Lok Sabha.

In a written reply, Mr. Singh said NASA has identified a private entity Axiom Space and ISRO had signed a Space Flight Agreement with the American firm for the joint mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. last year, President Joe Biden announced that India and the U.S. were collaborating to send an Indian astronaut to the ISS in 2024.

India’s Astronaut Selection Board had selected four astronauts from the group of test pilots from the Indian Air Force for the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human space flight planned to take place next year.

“All four astronauts have undergone training on a spaceflight basic module in Russia. Currently, astronauts are undergoing training at ISRO’s Astronauts Training Facility (ATF) in Bengaluru for the Gaganyaan Mission,” Mr. Singh said.

The minister said two out of three semesters of the Gaganyatri training programme have been completed while independent training simulators and static mockup simulators have been realised.

Sharing an update on the Gaganyaan mission, Mr. Singh said ground testing of propulsion systems stages, including solid, liquid and cryogenic engine, towards human rating of the launch vehicle has been completed.

Design and realisation of five types of crew escape system solid motors has been completed, he said.

The Union minister said static testing of all five types of solid motors too has been completed. Also, the first Test Vehicle mission (TV-D1) for performance validation of crew escape system and parachute deployment has been successfully accomplished, he added.

Mr. Singh said designs of the crew module and service module structure have been completed and various parachute systems have been tested through integrated main parachute airdrop test and rail track rocket sledge tests.

The ground test programme towards human rating of the Crew Module Propulsion System has been completed and the Service Module Propulsion System test programme is nearing completion, the minister told Lok Sabha.

He said characterisation of the Thermal Protection System has been completed.

Critical ground facilities such as Orbital Module Preparation Facility, ATF, and Oxygen Testing Facility have been operationalised and works on the Mission Control Centre facilities and establishment of Ground Station networks were nearing completion, Mr. Singh said.

The minister said solid and liquid propulsion stages of human-rated launch vehicle was ready for flight integration and the C32 cryogenic stage was nearing completion.

The crew module and service module structure realisation has been completed and flight integration activities were in progress, he added.

Susmita Mohanty wears many hats: spaceship designer, serial entrepreneur, and space diplomat. She is co-founder and director-general of Spaceport SARABHAI (S2), India’s first space-focused think-tank, which she founded in 2021. Ms. Mohanty has spent more than 25 years in the international space sector working with the Americans, Europeans, Japanese, Russians, and Indians in various capacities, and is invested in India’s transformation into a developed space economy, gender parity in the space ecosystem, and space sustainability. During an interview in her home in Bengaluru, she spoke to The Hindu about her disappointment with women being excluded from the process of choosing astronauts for the Gaganyaan’s first crewed mission, India’s place among spacefaring nations, and what our fledgling space spart-ups need to thrive. Edited excerpts follow.

Having more women in space, especially in leadership roles, seems important to you. You recently wrote about how no woman was eligible to be considered for Gaganyaan’s debut flight since the candidates were required to be combat pilots of instructor grade, which ruled out women candidates.

My reaction to the all-male Gaganyaan astronaut selection was natural since I grew up in an India where women have always been part of the ISRO [Indian Space Research Organisation] workforce and have taken to science and engineering quite happily. ISRO has a good gender balance. If you talk to women scientists in ISRO, they will tell you they enjoy working there.  Besides, India has the highest number of women pilots in the world. Instead of celebrating that and letting them compete, we are just closing the gate on them. It doesn’t make sense. 

Due to advances in space technologies, flying to space is now accessible to ordinary citizens who haven’t been part of a military environment, which is why you have space tourists. Even if the [Gaganyaan] selection committee wanted to limit the first round to IAF pilots, they could easily have allowed the women IAF pilots to compete.

We have more than a hundred women non-combat (helicopter, transport) pilots because we started accepting women in the IAF [Indian Air Force] 30 years ago, in 1993. A retired IAF friend told me that we now have 19 women combat pilots since we started inducting them in 2016.  Not allowing our women pilots to compete was a huge missed opportunity for India.

I wish I didn’t have to write these articles in the first place. We have women who are qualified, capable, and raring to go. So why shut the gate on them? Stop being gatekeepers, let there be fair play.

Can you talk about your childhood in Ahmedabad, and how it shaped your imagination about space?

I was raised in what I call Sarabhai-and-Gandhi Ahmedabad, [which is] rather different from its contemporary avatar. My school principal was a Gandhian. Local industrial families were engaged in cultural philanthropy and institution building and promoted internationalism.

Among the many great institutions that nurtured my curiosity, creativity, and renaissance-upbringing were the School of Architecture (CEPT), Kanoria Arts Centre, National Institute of Design, Space Applications Centre, Physical Research Laboratory, Centre for Environment Education, Textile Research Association, and the Indian Institute of Management.

In my years since, I have lived in multiple cities in the U.S. and Europe. I have travelled the globe. Never have I come across a city that has so many institutes of excellence in such a small radius. Raised in a milieu of space pioneers and renowned contemporary architects, I was smitten with the idea of space architecture and design.

I was a hyper-motivated kid. While in high-school, armed with a bicycle, my dad’s portable German typewriter, and access to amazing libraries, I started working on design problems of living and working in microgravity. Back then there was no internet. So I would use Indian post to mail design ideas to NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and American universities. Some even responded from time to time. That kept me going.

Where does India stand today among spacefaring nations? What is the Indian space economy like compared to other countries, and the country’s potential in space research and exploration?

India has one of the oldest space programs in the world. We did our first sounding rocket launch in November 1963. Getting to a successful Moon landing has taken 60 years of hard work and perseverance with many milestones along the way. We launched our first satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975; had our first successful PSLV launch in 1993; and our first successful GSLV launch in 2001. We launched our first Moon mission in 2008 and Mars mission in 2013.

As an independent young nation, as we started to slowly recover from more than 200 years of colonial plundering, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had the foresight to commit a substantial chunk of our meagre funds to science and technology early on. That foundation is fundamental to who and where we are today, as a nation. Any country with an advanced space programme such as ours takes a good half a century to get there. Space technology is complex. 

At international space forum, when I hear anyone refer to India as an ‘emerging space nation’, I flinch. I always insist on setting the record straight. The level of ignorance, even arrogance is often staggering. The old space narrative has a strong Western bias because it was largely shaped by the Cold War and Hollywood films.

India ranks among the top six space-faring countries in terms of space capabilities, the others being the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, and France. If you count Moon landings, then France can be dropped from the list. Soon India will become one of four countries to have independent human spaceflight capability once we launch humans into low-earth orbit.

Some of us are working on crafting a new 21st-century space narrative to reflect the [space] power shift to the eastern hemisphere, with China, India and Japan leading the way.

In 2007, when I decided to leave San Francisco and move back to India, I wrote to my mentor Arthur Clarke about my decision. He wrote back saying, “That is very strategic.” When I asked him why he thought so, he wrote back saying, “Everything began in the East and is going back there.” He cited the example of Chinese alchemists having invented gunpowder and said, “No gunpowder, no rockets.”

As someone passionate about preserving the environment, both our own and in outer space, can you talk about the impact of space debris?

I worry about the Moon because it is back in the cross-hair of human exploration. The Moon’s pristine environment will most surely be impacted adversely by human greed and the need to monetise everything. Space agencies and private companies will not stop at exploration and will likely resort to [mass] extraction of resources. Some countries such as the U.S. and Luxembourg have unilaterally passed laws that will allow their private companies to extract and own space resources. The prospect of space mining is real.

That’s not all. Humans are good at littering – there is proof on earth and in low-earth orbit.

We have made low-earth orbit a dangerous place because of tonnes of debris generated due to human activities. Debris objects can be as small as a chip of paint or as big as a defunct satellite or a discarded solar panel. Debris statistics on the ESA’s website indicate we have around 36,000 objects larger than 10 cm, 1 million objects between 1 cm and 10 cm, and 130 million objects between 1 mm and 1 cm. Orbiting debris moves at 28,000 km/hour, so it packs a punch.

Some space debris burns up as it re-enters the atmosphere, some fall into the ocean, and some onto land. Not all debris re-entries are controlled. For example, NASA had jettisoned a large pallet of old batteries weighing roughly 2.6 tonnes from the orbiting International Space Station [ISS], intending for them to burn up on re-entry. A fragment survived the journey and crashed into a Florida home in March this year.

There are Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee [IADC] guidelines for post-mission disposal of space hardware, but not everyone follows these procedures

How can space play a role in monitoring the effects of the climate crisis?

Earth observation (EO) satellites don’t just help us monitor global warming and ice melts, they also help tackle the impacts of climate change. For example, my former company Earth2Orbit’s EO analytics business arm had developed models that used satellite imagery and advances in machine-learning analytics for use cases that could make cities ‘climate smart’, for example monitor pollution, heat islands, urban sprawl, underground water.

Further, space technology spin-offs and satellite services have applications that can benefit the environment. Satellite-based systems can be leveraged to help reduce vehicle emissions, make wind turbines more efficient, and help solar cells produce more energy.

Most applications use a cocktail of satellites for telecom, remote sensing, meteorology, and navigation. Companies involved in downstream applications are innovating and creating new services and products to mitigate climate change and to help people, for example farmers and fisher folk, cope with climate change.

I’d like to talk about your journey as a space entrepreneur, and the three start-ups you’ve founded on three continents: MOONFRONT in San Francisco, LIQUIFER in Vienna, and EARTH2ORBIT (E2O) in India. Why did you choose to go the entrepreneurial route?

I began my professional space journey in 1997 with a brief stint at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre. After that, I worked for the ISS programne at Boeing in southern California for almost three years. This gave me an in-depth understanding of how the space industry works.

In 2000, I left Boeing, moved to San Francisco, and started a boutique space consulting firm called MOONFRONT. I decided to become an entrepreneur because when you work for a space agency or a large company, you cannot speak your mind freely. You have to toe the line, more or less. I am the type who likes to ask questions and challenge the status quo.

Four years after MOONFRONT, I co-founded a space architecture and design firm called LIQUIFER with a friend in Vienna. LIQUIFER Systems Group, as it is now called, not only designs space exploration, habitation, and transportation systems but also makes full-scale prototypes and tests them in analogue environments.

In 2008, I moved back to India and started my third venture, EARTH2OBIT (E2O). E2O played a pivotal role in opening up the U.S. launch market for the ISRO’s PSLV rocket. We also developed EO analytics products for crop forecasting and making cities climate-smart.

In 2021, I co-founded India’s first dedicated space think tank. We provide research-based policy guidance to the government, give India an international voice, and push for reforms that can help India become a developed space economy.

There has been a lot of conversation around the privatisation of space in India. We are privatising space launches and are in the process of allowing FDI in the manufacture of satellites. Your thoughts?

Privatising routine satellite and rocket assembly for mature technologies could have started two decades ago. I am told there was reluctance and pushback from the government space agency. The fear of losing control was palpable. The fact that it is finally happening is good news. Not just privatisation but even commercialisation of ISRO-tech has started to get traction.

Broadly speaking, there are three kinds of space companies in India currently: the NewSpace start-ups, legacy companies big and small that have been catering to ISRO’s needs for several decades, and telecom companies such as Jio Satcom and the Bharti Group-backed OneWeb.

The space reforms announced by the Indian government in 2020 mark the beginning of a new phase in India’s space journey. Operationalising those reforms will take time, but it is a move in the right direction. There is now a space regulator called IN-SPACe that is the one-stop interface for space companies seeking licenses, access to environmental test facilities, and other forms of cooperation to get their businesses rolling.

What is missing is funding on the scale you find in developed space economies such as the U.S. SpaceX, for example, would not exist without the billions of taxpayer funds it gets from NASA and the DoD [Department of Defense]. An American EO satellite company’s largest customer is usually the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Reconnaissance Office. Similarly, our government needs to become an ‘anchor customer’ for our companies for them to scale and thrive. The government cannot expect our companies to run on private capital.

In 2023, IN-SPACe’s ‘Decadal Vision and Strategy for the Development of the Indian Space Economy’ claimed it will propel India’s fledgling space industry from $8.2 billion currently to $44 billion by 2033. The reality is quite humbling. In 2023, cumulatively our [250 or so] space start-ups raised a meagre $134 million.

This February, the government announced FDI [foreign direct investment] liberalisation for the space sector. The FDI money will come in only when we have absolute regulatory clarity, a somewhat evolved space insurance landscape, and better protection of intellectual property. We also need national space legislation, which is yet to happen. So there is a long way to go. We are just getting started.

ISRO successfully launched the Gaganyaan’s Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
| Photo Credit: ANI

After the successful Test Vehicle-D1 (TV-D1) mission on October 21, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has lined up more test missions in the months ahead for the Gaganyaan programme.

Upcoming tests include the TV-D2 mission, the G-X unmanned orbital demonstration flight, an Integrated Air-Drop Test (IADT) and a Pad Abort Test, S. Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), told The Hindu.

A crew module with service module will be used in the G-X mission. This unmanned mission, to be launched aboard a human-rated LVM3, will have ‘Vyommitra’ – the ‘female’ robot astronaut designed and developed by the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) – on board. In this mission, ISRO will put to test control systems, a “reduced version” of the life support system for the crew, thermal protection systems and the parachute systems.

Editorial | The ascent begins: On the progress of India’s human spaceflight mission

Meanwhile, the Test Vehicle (TV) development programme will continue parallelly. TV-D2 will be the second of four tests planned for demonstrating in-flight abort capability under different initial conditions with respect to the launch vehicle. Unlike TV-D1, TV-D2 will also have onboard a control system for re-orienting the attitude of the crew module once it separates.

The test vehicle will be the same, expendable version based on the L40 strap-on of the multi-purpose vehicle Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) used in TV-D1 mission. TV-D1 demonstrated the in-flight abort of the Crew Escape System (CES) at 1.2 Mach speed, which was followed by the separation of the crew module and its recovery from the sea.

At the same time, ISRO is also examining whether the TV-D1 crew module, recovered from the sea after a parachute-assisted splash-down, can be reused for future tests. The space agency is looking into this possibility, Dr. Unnikrishnan Nair said. The lead unit of ISRO for launch vehicles, VSSC was responsible for the structural design and manufacture of the unpressurised crew module used for the test.

As the module had come into contact with salt water, only a detailed inspection can tell whether it can be reused and in what capacity. ‘‘We are working out a plan to reuse it. We need to open and clean it and see what can be done. Efforts will be taken to divert it for the appropriate test programme under Gaganyaan,” he said.

Thiruvananthapuram:

Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman S Somanath on Tuesday expressed his wish for increased female representation in the nation’s space missions.

He said this desire echoes the sentiments of the nation, including that of the Prime Minister.

During an event at the Pournami Kavu temple here, where Somanath initiated children into the world of letters as part of the Vidyarambam ceremony on Vijayadasami, he shared his expectation of seeing more female astronauts in ISRO’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission.

Somanath clarified that as astronauts had already been selected and trained, the participation of women won’t be feasible in Gaganyaan’s inaugural mission, which aims to send humans to space and bring them back safely to Earth.

However, he expressed optimism of greater female involvement in future Gaganyaan missions.

“More women astronauts in space missions is part of my wish list, and I only echoed the voice of the nation, including that of the Prime Minister,” he told PTI.

On Sunday, the ISRO chairman had said the space agency prefers woman fighter test pilots or female scientists for its much-awaited human space flight programme-Gaganyaan- and it is possible to send them in future.

He had also said ISRO would send a female humanoid – a robot that resembles a human – on its unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft next year.

The ambitious mission aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for three days and bring them safely back to Earth.

“No doubt about it…but we have to find out such possible (women) candidates in the future,” Somanath told PTI over phone in response to a query.

Acknowledging his spiritual inclination, the ISRO Chairman engaged in prayers on Vijayadasami day.

After completing his prayers at the temple on Tuesday, Somanath sat down for more than 30 minutes to help toddlers write their first letters to mark the beginning of their education.

Somanath justified his participation, saying the ceremony has got nothing to do with religion but is only considered as the initiation to education.

“Alphabets are worshipped in this temple. We can see the alphabets of the Malayalam language displayed as Gods and Goddesses here and worshipped. So they belong to us as knowledge,” Somanath said.

He said on the day of Vijayadasami, children are introduced to the domain of knowledge by gurus, who have already acquired something.

“So when they transfer that knowledge to the children, it is a blessing. So we transfer the blessing to them so that they can become great in the years to come,” the ISRO chief said.

He said it is a blessing of spirituality from the gurus to the children to help them learn and understand about the whole universe.

Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director Unnikrishnan were also present in Pournami Kavu to help the children with Vidyarambam.

Shashi Tharoor, MP, took part in the Vidyarambam ceremony at Sree Saraswathy Devi Temple in Poojappura.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

ISRO prefers woman fighter test pilots or female scientists for its Gaganyaan mission, the space agency chief S. Somanath said. File
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

ISRO prefers woman fighter test pilots or female scientists for its much-awaited human space flight programme Gaganyaan mission and it is possible to send them in the future, the space agency chief S. Somanath said on Sunday.

He also said ISRO would send a female humanoid – a robot that resembles a human – in its unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft next year. The ambitious mission aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for three days and bring them safely back to the Earth.

“No doubt about it…but we have to find out such possible (women) candidates in the future,” Somanath told PTI over phone in response to a query.

Also read:Gaganyaan: The mission to send Indians to space is on track 

His statement came a day after the ISRO successfully launched its TV-D1 test vehicle ahead of the human space flight mission Gaganyaan.

He said the manned mission is expected by 2025 and that it will be a short duration mission.

“Right now, the initial candidates are to be from Air Force fighter test pilots…they are a bit different category. Right now, we are not having women fighter test pilots. So, once they come, that is one route,” the Chairman said.

The second option was when there would be more scientific activity, he said.

“Then, scientists will come as astronauts. So, at that time, I believe that more possibilities for women are there. Currently, possibilities are lesser because there are no women fighter test pilots,” Mr. Somanath explained.

To a question, he said the ISRO’s target is to put a fully operational space station by 2035.

ISRO had successfully launched TV-D1 test vehicle ahead of the human space flight mission Gaganyaan on Saturday.

After overcoming initial hiccups including delays, the space agency successfully launched the test vehicle with payloads related to the country’s ambitious Gaganyaan programme.

Scientists simulated an abort situation for the Crew Escape System to carry the Crew Module of the test vehicle out as they made a splash into the Bay of Bengal with planned precision.

ISRO prefers woman fighter test pilots or female scientists for its Gaganyaan mission, the space agency chief S. Somanath said. File
| Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K

ISRO prefers woman fighter test pilots or female scientists for its much-awaited human space flight programme Gaganyaan mission and it is possible to send them in the future, the space agency chief S. Somanath said on Sunday.

He also said ISRO would send a female humanoid – a robot that resembles a human – in its unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft next year. The ambitious mission aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for three days and bring them safely back to the Earth.

“No doubt about it…but we have to find out such possible (women) candidates in the future,” Somanath told PTI over phone in response to a query.

Also read: Gaganyaan: The mission to send Indians to space is on track 

His statement came a day after the ISRO successfully launched its TV-D1 test vehicle ahead of the human space flight mission Gaganyaan.

He said the manned mission is expected by 2025 and that it will be a short duration mission.

“Right now, the initial candidates are to be from Air Force fighter test pilots…they are a bit different category. Right now, we are not having women fighter test pilots. So, once they come, that is one route,” the Chairman said.

The second option was when there would be more scientific activity, he said.

“Then, scientists will come as astronauts. So, at that time, I believe that more possibilities for women are there. Currently, possibilities are lesser because there are no women fighter test pilots,” Mr. Somanath explained.

To a question, he said the ISRO’s target is to put a fully operational space station by 2035.

ISRO had successfully launched TV-D1 test vehicle ahead of the human space flight mission Gaganyaan on Saturday.

After overcoming initial hiccups including delays, the space agency successfully launched the test vehicle with payloads related to the country’s ambitious Gaganyaan programme.

Scientists simulated an abort situation for the Crew Escape System to carry the Crew Module of the test vehicle out as they made a splash into the Bay of Bengal with planned precision.

The Indian Space Research Organisation on Saturday morning launched the first of a series of test flights for the Gaganyaan Mission 2025. ISRO’s latest endeavour will see India sending astronauts into space in 2025 but before that, it will carry out several test flights to ensure everything is in perfect order for a safe mission.

The test flight was launched at 10:00 AM from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, in what was the second attempt of the day. The first effort was halted five seconds before its scheduled time after the mission’s ground computers detected an anomaly, said ISRO Chief S Somanath. The Navy will later recover the crew module from the Bay of Bengal.

The Gaganyaan project is ISRO’s human spaceflight programme, aimed to send humans into space. The project’s goal is to launch a crew of three astronauts into low Earth orbit and bring them back safely to Earth. 

Before sending humans into space, the test missions include the Integrated AirDrop Test, the Pad Abort Test, and Test Vehicle flights to ensure everything works well. ISRO will send humans into space only after they are sure it’s safe.

Mission Gaganyaan

TV D1 Test Flight is accomplished.

Crew Escape System performed as intended.

Mission Gaganyaan gets off on a successful note. @DRDO_India@indiannavy#Gaganyaan

— ISRO (@isro) October 21, 2023

“I am very happy to announce the successful accomplishment of the TV-D1 Mission,” S Somanath said soon after the test flight launch.

“The purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the crew escape system for the Gaganyaan programme through a test vehicle demonstration in which the vehicle went up to a Mach number, which is slightly above the speed of sound and initiated an abort condition for the crew escape system to function,” he said.

The ISRO chief added that the crew escape system took the crew module away from the vehicle and subsequent operations including the touch-down at the sea have been very well accomplished.

New Delhi:

ISRO’s unmanned test flight for its first human spaceflight mission ‘Gaganyaan’ today lifted off from Sriharikota, the first landmark in India’s ambitious space mission.

This flight abort test was conducted to test the efficiancy of the vehicle’s crew escape system, which will be used in case astronauts need to eject in case of an emergency.

“We are very happy to announce the success of the mission. The purpose of the mission was to demonstrate the crew escape system. The vehicle went slightly above the speed of sound, before it initiated the crew escape system,” Indian Space Research Organisation S Somanath said from the mission centre.

“The escape system took the crew module away from the vehicle and subsequent operations including the touch-down at the sea have been very well accomplished,” he added.

Mr Somanath said that the agency is now working to retreive the crew modules from the sea.

Mission Gaganyaan

TV D1 Test Flight is accomplished.

Crew Escape System performed as intended.

Mission Gaganyaan gets off on a successful note. @DRDO_India@indiannavy#Gaganyaan

— ISRO (@isro) October 21, 2023

Test Vehicle D1 mission was scheduled for a lift-off from the first launch pad at 8 am which was revised to 8.45 am. But just 5 seconds before the launch, the countdown stopped. ISRO identified the cause and successfully pulled off the test at 10am.

The test vehicle mission is the predecessor to the Gaganyaan programme which aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400kms for three days and bring them safely back to the Earth.

India will demonstrate its human spaceflight capabilities in a mission called Gaganyaan, scheduled to launch in 2024. The country will set up a space station by 2035 and work on a Venus orbiter as well as a Mars lander.

New Delhi:

The first test for the Gaganyaan human space flight mission was called off just seconds before the scheduled launch. The Indian Space Research Organisation has not explained why the launch was held.

“Engine ignition has not happened in the nominal course due to an anomaly. We have to find out what went wrong. The vehicle is safe, and we will announce the reason after an investigation,” ISRO chief S Somanath said from the Mission Control Center.

Test Vehicle D1 mission was scheduled for a lift-off from the first launch pad at 8 a.m. which was revised to 8.45 am. But just 5 seconds before the launch, the countdown stopped. ISRO is expected to announce a new date for the test soon.

“What has happened is that the ground support computer doing this function has withheld the launch in view of the anomaly observed. We will come back after understanding the anomaly, correct it, and schedule the launch very soon,” the space agency’s Chairman said.

The test vehicle mission is the predecessor to the Gaganyaan programme which aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400kms for three days and bring them safely back to the Earth.

The first test, which could not be conducted today, will look at the efficacy of the crew escape system, which can be used to eject astronauts in emergencies.

It will be followed by another test flight carrying a robot to outer space before the final manned mission takes place.

“Before the ultimate manned ‘Gaganyaan’ mission, there will be a test flight next year, which will carry Vyommitra, the female robot astronaut,” Union Minister Jitendra Singh said.

ISRO’s TV-D1 test flight of Mission Gaganyaan lifts off from Satish Dhawan Space Station, in Sriharikota on October 21, 2023. Photo: X/@isro via PTI
| Photo Credit: –

ISRO scientists, after a two hour delay and nerve-wracking moments as the engine of TV-D1 failed to ignite initially, on October 21 launched the rocket carrying payloads related to crew safety in Gaganyaan mission with precision from Sriharikota and achieved the goal of Crew Module and Crew Escape separation.

ISRO chief S. Somanath said, Gaganyaan’s first Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) was successfully accomplished.  

The ISRO announced on X that TV-D1 Mission was fully achieved and that the Crew Escape System performed as intended.

Earlier in the day, the ISRO held the launch of Gaganyaan’s first Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) five seconds before lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. However, the reason for the launch hold was identified and corrected, ISRO said.

The TV-D1 flight which was to demonstrate the performance of the Crew Escape System (CES) was scheduled to lift off at 8 a.m, however it was rescheduled for 8.30 am.

At 8.30 a.m. the mission director initiated the automatic launch sequence with the lift off again rescheduled at 8.45 a.m. But five seconds before liftoff the launch was called off.

Mr. Somanath said that the onboard computer withheld the launch in view of an anomaly observed.

“The engine ignition has to happen in the nominal course. We have to find out what went wrong with that. We will come back soon after analysing what has triggered the automatic launch sequence holding the vehicle. So what has happened is the onboard computer which is doing the function has withheld the launch in view of the anomaly observed,” Mr. Somanath said.

He added that the launch vehicle is safe and that ISRO will study and analyse anomalies.

“The launch vehicle is safe. We will have to reach the vehicle and look at what has happened. We will find out and understand the anomaly and schedule the launch very soon,” he added. Mr. Somanath even said that the new date for the launch will be announced later after the analysis is completed.

But finally, the vehicle took off at 10 a.m. and the payloads later splashed into the sea as planned, a development that witnessed jubilation.

‘Successful accomplishment’

Addressing the media, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said, “I am very happy to announce the successful accomplishment of the TV-D1 mission. The purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the crew escape system for the Gaganyaan program through a test vehicle demonstration in which the vehicle went up to a Mach number, which is slightly above the speed of sound, and initiated an abort condition for the crew escape system to function.”

“The crew escape system took the crew module away from the vehicle, and subsequent operations, including the touch-down at sea, have been very well accomplished. and we have confirmation of the data for all of this,” he added.

ISRO chief S Somanath congratulated scientists after the successful touchdown of the crew escape module.

On the occasion, Mission Director S. Sivakumar said, “This is like a never before attempt. It is like a bouquet of three experiments put together. We have now seen the characteristics of all three systems with what we wanted to test through this experiment or this mission. The test vehicle, the crew escape system, the crew module everything, we have perfectly demonstrated in the first attempt. All the systems performed well.”

“We had been at penance for the last 3 to 4 years and the D-day was today… We are very happy to be able to do it on the very first attempt,” he added.

This Flight test vehicle Abort mission was conducted to demonstrate the performance of the Crew escape system as part of the Gaganyaan mission. The objectives of this mission were flight demonstration and evaluation of test vehicle sub-systems, evaluation of CES including various separation systems and CM characteristics and deceleration systems demonstration at higher altitude and its recovery.

Simply put, the objective of the mission was to check the safety of the CES for its capabilities to take the CM to safety in case of an emergency that will require ISRO to abort the mission.

(With inputs from Agencies)