News: ISRO successfully carried out its first Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-1), a critical milestone in preparations for the country’s maiden human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan.
About Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-1)
- It is a specialized trial to ensure the parachute system designed for the Gaganyaan crew module performs reliably in real-world conditions.
- The crew module will be responsible for safely bringing astronauts back to earth after re-entry.
- Conducted by: This test is a joint effort of ISRO, Indian Air Force, DRDO, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.
- This test is part of system level qualification of parachute-based deceleration system, in which a simulated Crew Module, encompassing the deceleration system is dropped using a helicopter.
- Highlights of test
- The Test was designed to evaluate full suite of parachutes that will slow down and stabilize the crew module during re-entry and splashdown of the actual human spaceflight mission.
- This included two drogue parachutes which are conical or funnel-shaped devices with open ends, for initial slowing down, followed by pilot chutes and three main parachutes to ensure safe descent.
