Sriharikota: ISRO scientists successfully launched a rocket from Sriharikota on October 21, carrying payloads related to crew safety in the Gaganyaan mission. This achievement came after a two-hour delay and some tense moments when the TV-D1 engine initially failed to ignite. The mission met its goal of Crew Module and Crew Escape separation.
ISRO Chief S. Somanath announced the successful accomplishment of Gaganyaan’s first Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1). The mission was declared fully achieved, and the Crew Escape System performed as intended, ISRO said via X (formerly Twitter).
Earlier in the day, the launch of Gaganyaan’s first Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) was briefly held five seconds before liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota due to an identified issue, which was subsequently corrected by ISRO.
The TV-D1 flight, meant to demonstrate the performance of the Crew Escape System (CES), was initially scheduled for liftoff at 8 a.m. but was rescheduled to 8.30 a.m. At 8.30 a.m., the automatic launch sequence was initiated, and liftoff was rescheduled for 8.45 a.m. However, just five seconds before liftoff, the launch was called off due to an anomaly observed by the onboard computer, Somnath informed.
He reassured that the launch vehicle was safe and that ISRO would investigate the anomalies and announce a new launch date once the analysis was complete. The rocket finally took off at 10 a.m., and the payloads were successfully splashed into the sea as planned.
While addressing the media, Somanath said, “I am very happy to announce the successful accomplishment of the TV-D1 mission. The purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the Crew Escape System for the Gaganyaan program through a test vehicle demonstration in which the vehicle went up to a Mach number, which is slightly above the speed of sound, and initiated an abort condition for the Crew Escape System to function.”
“The Crew Escape System took the crew module away from the vehicle, and subsequent operations, including the touch-down at sea, have been very well accomplished, and we have confirmation of the data for all of this,” he added.
Mission Director S. Sivakumar described the mission as a unique endeavour. “It is like a bouquet of three experiments put together. We have now seen the characteristics of all three systems with what we wanted to test through this experiment or this mission. The test vehicle, the Crew Escape System, the crew module everything, we have perfectly demonstrated in the first attempt. All the systems performed well.”
The TV-D1 mission aimed to evaluate the performance of the Crew Escape System as part of the Gaganyaan mission, ensuring the safety of the crew in the event of an emergency requiring an abort of the mission.
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