ISRO Marks Major Milestone for Gaganyaan Mission with Key Achievements

Isro took to 'X' to share the update, stating, "A significant milestone for the Gaganyaan Programme! The first solid motor segment has been moved from the production plant to the launch complex, marking a key step towards the HLVM3 G1 flight. India's human spaceflight dreams are taking shape”.

The Gaganyaan mission aims to send Indian astronauts to space, where they will orbit 400 km above Earth in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for a three-day mission. The astronauts will return to Earth by landing in the Indian Ocean. This ambitious project will establish India as a nation capable of conducting crewed space missions, showcasing Isro's advancements in space technology.

As part of the mission preparations, Isro and the Indian Navy conducted “Well Deck” recovery trials off the coast of Visakhapatnam earlier this week. These trials involved practicing the retrieval of the Gaganyaan crew module from the sea. The well-deck of the recovery ship, which can be flooded with water, enabled docking operations for recovered spacecraft. According to Isro, these trials are part of a series of tests aimed at finalising standard operating procedures for both nominal and off-nominal recovery scenarios, ensuring readiness for all contingencies.

In another achievement, Isro successfully conducted a sea-level hot test of the CE20 cryogenic engine. This engine powers the upper stage of the LVM3 launch vehicle, a crucial component of the Gaganyaan mission. The CE20 engine has already played a key role in previous missions such as Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3, and its qualification for the human spaceflight project marks a pivotal step in mission readiness.