ISRO to commence unmanned flight tests of Gaganyaan mission

BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday said it is on course to commence unmanned flight tests for the country’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission, and preparations are underway for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1).

In a post on social media platform ‘X, the space agency said, “ISRO to commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission. Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are underway.”

According to ISRO, the first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) is in the final stages of preparation.

Officials had earlier indicated that TV-D1 launch is likely by this month-end.

The Test Vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The payloads consist of the Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters.

This flight will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission, it said.