ISRO Aces Technology Demonstration Test For Safe Landing Of Gaganyaan Astronauts

ISRO announced the successful completion of a new technology demonstration test that will ensure a safe landing of Indian astronauts during Gaganyaan mission.

ISRO has announced the successful completion of a new technology demonstration test that will ensure a safe landing of Indian astronauts who will launch into space under the Gaganyaan mission. Named the Gaganyaan deceleration system, it consists of three main parachutes that will decrease the speed of descending crew module for a safe landing. According to ISRO, the Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test, or IMAT used a 5-tonne dummy spacecraft which was lofted to an altitude of 2.5 km before it descended through the small cantonment town of Babina on the outskirts of Jhansi.

ISRO announces the success of Gaganyaan test

ISRO explained that the Gaganyaan deceleration system consists of a total of ten parachutes-- three primary ones and other drogue parachutes to reduce the speed of the spacecraft to safe landing levels. For this test, the agency dropped the dummy spacecraft using the Indian Air Force's IL-76 aircraft and scientists simulated a condition where one of the two main parachutes did not open. ISRO says that the main parachute sizes were initially restricted to a smaller area to reduce the opening shock.

About seven seconds after two small pyro-based parachutes were deployed, the main ones were allowed to fully inflate and they managed to bring down descent speed to safe levels. After the entire sequence ended in 2-3 minutes, the mission team concluded that even two parachutes are enough for the landing of astronauts. "The IMAT test is the first in a series of integrated parachute airdrop tests planned to simulate different failure conditions of the parachute system before it is deemed qualified to be used in the first human spaceflight mission", ISRO said in an official statement. 

The entire demonstration was carried out by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The agencies have planned five such tests at the Babina Field Fire Range (BFFR) in the Jhansi for the rigorous testing of each parachute to be used for Gaganyaan. Next up in the series is to demonstrate the lead-lag deployment of clustered main parachutes using a 5-tonne payload.

When will Gaganyaan launch?

Gaganyaan is a series of missions that include both uncrewed and crewed missions. R Umamaheshwaran, Director of ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre, said in October that the agency will start a series of test flights for India's maiden human space flight mission in February 2023. Moreover, the first Indian astronauts are likely to undertake their maiden spaceflight by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

Quelle: REPUBLICWORLD

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Update: 6.12.2022

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Mission Gaganyaan: India's first mission to send humans to space runs into trouble

Mission Gaganyaan aims to take a crew of three astronauts to an orbit 400 km above the Earth's surface. The project was conceived in 2007. It was formally started in 2018 and Rs 10,000 crore was allocated for it

Bengaluru: India’s first mission to send humans into space, Gaganyaan, is running late due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has not yet released the revised timeline for the project.

Mission Gaganyaan aims to take a crew of three astronauts to an orbit 400 km above the Earth’s surface. The project was conceived in 2007. It was formally started in 2018 and Rs 10,000 crore was allocated for it.

The first crewed mission was to be launched in December 2021. Two uncrewed missions were to be launched in December 2020 and July 2021 before the final launch. The government kept claiming during this time that there would be no delay in the project due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the first crewed flight was rescheduled from 2020 to 2021 and then to 2022.

But in September this year, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh revised the dates to the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. According to The Print report, ISRO has not responded on this matter.

ISRO will send robots into space

In the second unmanned flight, ISRO will send a robot named Vyommitra, which will monitor changes in a human body. It will monitor heart rate, blood pressure and other changes in space. This robot was first shown by ISRO in an event in 2020.

The Gaganyaan mission may be running late, but ISRO is working closely with private startups. Recently the country’s first private rocket has been launched from ISRO’s launchpad in Sriharikota.

IAF pilots will go to space

In 2018, 12 Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots were shortlisted to be part of this crew. He was subjected to physical and psychological tests at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Bengaluru. Of these, 4 pilots were sent to Russia in January 2020 for further training.

An astronaut training facility was set up in Bengaluru in May this year. Here the four astronauts will go through theory, physical fitness, flight suit training, microgravity, among other things.

Aim of Gaganyaan mission

According to the information, Gaganyaan mission will be launched from LVM3 rocket. It will take the crew 16 minutes to reach space, where they will spend three days conducting scientific experiments. Astronauts will be in Earth’s orbit 400 km above the surface. During the return, the capsule in which the crew will live will separate at an altitude of 120 km. It will splash down in the sea nearby 36 minutes after separation.

Quelle: Firstpost

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India’s first human spaceflight Gaganyan in limbo, astronauts partially trained, ISRO silent

The two uncrewed missions preceding the crewed flight are also yet to take place. They are now expected to launch mid-2024. Preparations for the mission are underway.

Bengaluru: Gaganyaan, India’s first human spaceflight mission, seems to be in a state of limbo, following multiple delays due to the pandemic. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is yet to issue a revised timeline of the project, which aims to launch a crew of three astronauts to an orbit of 400 km for three days.

The project was conceived in 2007 and formally approved in 2018 with a budget of Rs 10,000 crore. The first crewed mission was set to be launched in December 2021. Two uncrewed missions, in December 2020 and July 2021, were to be undertaken before the final launch.

Despite the government claiming that there would be no delays due to Covid, the first uncrewed flight wasrescheduled from 2020 to 2021 and then again to 2022. The dates were once again revised to late 2023 or early 2024, announced Union minister of state for science and technology Jitendra Singh in September this year.

In the second uncrewed flight, the “female-looking robot” developed by ISRO, Vyommitra, will carry software that will mimic basic metabolic functions and will monitor changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and other such parameters.

This robot was first displayed by ISRO in a 2020 show. Only its upper half was on display, with its back circuitry exposed. The robot was undergoing pre-flight ground tests at the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit in October this year.

Singh said that the first crewed flight will be launched in 2024, three years after the initially announced date.

Then, on 15 November, Singh said that the test flight, without humanoids or crew, will take place only in mid-2024. There is also no confirmed information regarding the number of astronauts that will be on the mission and the duration of it

The preparations for the mission, though, have been underway— from  the Pad Abort Test in 2018 and improvement of the Sriharikota launch pad in 2019 to the latest parachute airdrop test on 19 November. 

ThePrint contacted ISRO multiple times, via phone and mail, about the timeline, but there has been no response. The report will be updated when a response is received.

Meanwhile, the agency has been working on facilitating access to space for private startups by helping realise a number of MoUs signed with a group of companies.

India’s first private launchpad was inaugurated by ISRO officials within Sriharikota Monday, while earlier this month, the country’s first private rocket was launched from an ISRO launch pad.

The agency is also working on Chandrayaan-3, which is scheduled to attempt another landing on the lunar south pole In June 2023.

Who will fly the spacecraft?

Twelve male Indian Air Force pilots were shortlisted in 2018 to be part of the crew. They underwent physical and psychological tests at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Bengaluru. Four pilots from this crew were thenselected to undergo further training in Russia’s Glavkosmos facility in January 2020. The training was completed the same year.

An astronaut training facility was established in Bengaluru in May this year. Here, the four astronauts will undergo theoretical training, physical fitness, simulator work, flight suit training, microgravity familiarisation, flight systems training, recovery and survival, flight simulator, aeromedical training, and, according to ISRO, yoga.

In 2020, the then-ISRO chairperson K. Sivan said that although all four shortlisted candidates will go through extensive training procedures, it is likely that only one will fly on the maiden mission. Recent reports say that at least two astronauts will be sent on the mission, while the ISRO website says three.

The duration of the mission is also unclear. The space agency’s website says it will be a three-day mission but news reports say the flight will be in space for five to seven days.

The astronauts’ flight suits will be designed by the Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory in Bengaluru. Their spacesuits and shock-absorbing seats have been supplied by the Russian maker NPP Zvezda. 

Mysuru’s Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) will provide Indian-cuisine-based foods for the flights.

Quelle: ThePrint

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Update: 23.12.2022

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Gaganyaan: ISRO to launch India's 1st human space flight mission in 2024

Indian government on Wednesday informed parliament that it plans to conduct India's first human space voyage, Gaganyaan, in 2024.

Gaganyaan, India's first crew journey to space, is scheduled for 2024. In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister Jitendra Singh stated that the uncrewed 'G1' mission will launch in the fourth quarter of 2023, the second uncrewed 'G2' mission will launch in the second quarter of 2024, and the final human space flight 'H1' mission will launch in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The minister said that individuals for astronaut designation on human space flight missions have been chosen and are undergoing mission-specific training in Bengaluru.

The Rs 10,000 crore project intends to launch a three-person Indian crew into space for five to seven days and safely return them to Earth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi initially mentioned the Gaganyaan mission in his Republic Day speech from the Red Fort in 2018. The year 2022 commemorates the 75th anniversary of India's independence. However, the personnel mission has been postponed owing to a variety of problems.

Two uncrewed launches were scheduled for 40 months from the previous date to display and test significant technology and capabilities.

Countries are rushing to the cosmos as the next battleground for global dominance, in pursuit of new riches on the Moon and clues of microbial life beyond our solar system. China, although behind the United States and Russia in space exploration, is making steady progress toward its ambitions of building its own space station, recovering samples from asteroids, and trekking across the surface of Mars. Having an Indian crew lead the mission would put India at the centre of this race, which would have a significant impact on the world's altering geopolitical environment.

Aside from the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which satisfies the global demand for satellites in Low Earth Orbit, India has performed low-cost flights to the Moon and Mars.

Quelle: DNA