The Gaganyaan project plans to demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities.
Bangalore:
The Indian Space Research Organization conducted experiments simulating cluster deployment of parachutes as part of preparations for the Gaganyaan human space flight mission.
ISRO has tested ‘rail track rocket sled’ deployment of Gaganyaan pilots and Apex Cover Separation (ACS) parachutes in cluster configuration at the Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh.
The first test simulated the deployment of a cluster of two pilot parachutes — one parachute subjected to minimum angle with respect to flow conditions and the second subject to maximum angle with respect to flow, the National Space Agency headquarters said here.
“These pilot parachutes are used to extract and deploy the main parachutes independently in the Gaganyaan mission,” an ISRO statement said.
The second test simulated the deployment of two ACS parachute clusters under maximum dynamic pressure conditions.
The test also simulated a clustered deployment at a 90-degree angle under attack conditions for the crew module. ACS parachutes are used to detach the top cover mounted on the crew module on the Gaganyaan mission.
Both the pilot and the ACS parachute were deployed using a pyrotechnic mortar device, ISRO said, adding that the tests were conducted on March 1 and 3.
Gaganyan Parachute System development has been done by a joint effort of Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram and Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra, the statement said.
The Gaganyaan project plans to demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities by launching a three-member crew into a 400-km orbit for a three-day mission and landing in Indian waters to bring them back safely to Earth, according to ISRO.
Last December, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh told Parliament that the country’s first human space flight mission is targeted for launch in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Jitendra Singh said that the second unmanned G2 mission in the second quarter of 2024 is targeted to be launched in the last quarter of 2023 before the final manned spaceflight H1 mission in the fourth quarter of 2024.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and appeared on a syndicated feed.)
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