Saturday, October 21, 2023
India has completed a crucial test of a manned space mission.
The purpose of the test was to demonstrate the crew's escape system.
"Mission Gaganyaan is a success," says ISRO.
NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Saturday successfully launched the first unmanned test run of its upcoming manned orbital mission, the latest milestone for its spaceflight ambitions.
According to NDTV, India will demonstrate its spaceflight capabilities with a mission called Gaganyaan ("Skycraft"), scheduled for launch in 2024. Earth will establish a space station by 2035 and work on a Venus orbiter as well as a lander on Mars. .
Saturday's rocket was testing its crew module's emergency escape system, which separated from the thruster and made a soft landing at sea about 10 minutes after liftoff.
"We are very happy to announce the success of the mission. The purpose of the mission was to demonstrate the crew escape system. The vehicle went slightly above the speed of sound before triggering the crew escape system," ISRO chief S. Somanath said afterwards.
"The escape system took the crew module off the vehicle and the subsequent operations, including the landing at sea, were very well done," he added.
Reason for the launch hold is identified and corrected.
— ISRO (@isro) October 21, 2023
The launch is planned at 10:00 Hrs. today.
The start was delayed by two hours due to bad weather and engine failure.
ISRO will conduct a series of 20 major tests, including launching a robot into space, before the last manned mission in 2025.
Gaganyaan is a first-of-its-kind mission for India and comes with an estimated price tag of $1.08 billion, according to ISRO.
India plans to send astronauts beyond the Earth's atmosphere for three days before bringing them back safely with a soft landing in Indian territorial waters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to send a man to the moon by 2040 after a year of triumphs in India's space programme.
In August, India became only the fourth country after Russia, the United States and China to land an unmanned craft on the moon.
The following month, India launched a probe to observe the outermost layers of the Sun from the Sun's orbit.
Since it first sent a probe into lunar orbit in 2008, India's space program has grown considerably in size and momentum, consistently matching the achievements of established space powers at a fraction of their cost.
India is also planning a joint mission with Japan to send another probe to the moon by 2025 and an orbital mission to Venus within the next two years.
Experts say India is able to keep costs low by copying and adapting existing technologies and thanks to an abundance of highly skilled engineers who earn a fraction of the wages of their foreign counterparts.
