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Source: The post is based on the article “Gaganyaan Test Vehicle Space flight, that is, “Gaganyaan” Test Vehicle Development flight (TV-D1) scheduled on 21st October, says Union Minister” published in “PIB” on 10th October 2023
What is the News?
The Union Minister has announced that the “Gaganyaan” Test Vehicle Development flight (TV-D1) will be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
What is Test Vehicle Development Flight (TV-D1)?
Test Vehicle Development Flight (TV-D1) is intended to test the ‘crew module ’ or the part of the Gaganyaan vehicle where the Indian astronauts will be housed.
The test involves launching the crew module to outer space and bringing it back to earth and recovering it after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal.
Additionally, there’s a crew escape system that can safely return the astronauts to the sea if there are any issues during the launch.
The success of this test will set the stage for the first unmanned “Gaganyaan” mission and ultimately manned mission to outer space in low earth orbit.
What is Gaganyaan Mission?
Gaganyaan mission envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a human crew to an orbit of 400 km and bringing them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.
The prerequisites for Gaganyaan mission include development of many critical technologies including 1) human rated launch vehicle for carrying crew safely to space 2) Life Support System to provide an earth like environment to crew in space and 3) crew emergency escape provision and evolving crew management aspects for training, recovery and rehabilitation of crew.
The mission is expected to be executed in the second half of 2024.
