The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the ‘TV-D1’ (Test Vehicle Development Flight 1) as part of the Gaganyaan Mission. The test vehicle faced initial engine ignition issues but was launched on the second attempt. The purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the crew escape system for the Gaganyaan program. The system successfully initiated an abort condition and took the crew module away from the vehicle, with subsequent operations and touch-down at sea accomplished as expected.
Mission Director S Sivakumar expressed his satisfaction with the successful first attempt, stating that the mission was a never-before-seen combination of three experiments: the test vehicle, the crew escape system, and the crew module. The Flight test vehicle Abort mission aimed to demonstrate the performance of the Crew escape system and evaluate various subsystems. The single-stage liquid rocket test vehicle simulated the abort condition during the ascent trajectory encountered in the upcoming Gaganyaan mission.
This milestone achievement brings India closer to demonstrating its capability to send humans into space. The Gaganyaan project aims to launch a crew of three members into orbit for a 3-day mission and return them safely back to earth by landing in Indian waters. This will make India the fourth nation to successfully send humans on a manned spaceflight mission, joining the US, Russia, and China. With the success of recent space initiatives like the Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L1 missions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed India to strive for new and ambitious goals, including establishing the Indian Space Station by 2035 and sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040.
