ISRO releases the first images of the craft that will launch humans into space for Mission Gaganyaan

The Gaganyaan spacecraft, which will launch people into space in December 2024, was first seen in photographs released by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Saturday. The space agency also announced that unmanned flight testing for the Gaganyaan mission will start soon.

“ISRO will start testing unmanned aircraft in flight for the Gaganyaan mission. The crew escape system’s performance is being tested with the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), according to a statement from the space agency on X (previously Twitter).

The Gaganyaan Mission entails sending a crew of two to three people on a mission that lasts one to three days to an orbit 400 kilometers around the Earth and returning them by landing in a predetermined spot in the Indian Ocean.

The ISRO said, “The success of this test flight will pave the way for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions, ultimately leading to the first Gaganyaan mission with Indian astronauts.”

The first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) is nearing completion, according to an announcement from the agency. A single-stage liquid rocket called the Test Vehicle was created for this abort mission.

A single-stage liquid rocket called the Test Vehicle was created for this abort mission. The Crew Module (CM), Crew Escape Systems (CES), with their fast-acting solid motors, the Crew Module Fairing (CMF), and Interface Adapters make up the payloads. During the ascending trajectory, which corresponds to a Mach number of 1.2 experienced during the Gaganyaan mission, this flight will replicate the abort scenario, according to the press statement.

According to ISRO, at a height of around 17 kilometers, the Crew Escape System with Crew Module will be let loose from the Test Vehicle.