Indian Navy & ISRO Collaborate For Gaganyaan Mission

For Gaganyaan Mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) hints that they will conduct initial recovery trials of the crew module in the water survival test facility (WSTF) of the Navy in Kochi, Kerala with the support of the Indian Navy.

The space agency suggested a crew module recovery model (CMRM) was used for the trial simulating the mass, centre of gravity, outer dimensions and externals of the actual crew module at touchdown.

The preparatory trials for CCRM of the Gaganyaan mission which is to take place in Indian waters with government agencies participating with the Indian Navy, leading the overall recovery operations.

The sequence of operations required for the recovery of the crew module marked the part of the trials.

According to ISRO, the Gaganyaan project will serve as a demonstration of human spaceflight capability, with its crew launch of three people into a 400 km orbit for a three-day mission, returning them safely to land in Indian sea waters. 

It added any successful human spaceflight includes the safe recovery of crew and so the trial stands important and needs to be carried out with minimum lapse of time.

The recovery procedures for various scenarios need more practice, carrying out a number of trials and finalising the standard operating procedures (SoP) for recovery of crew and crew modules, the space agency added.

It further highlighted the recovery trials for the crew module carried out on Tuesday and stated that different types of recovery trials are planned from the recovery of the crew module to the flight crew training at WSTF. 

The agency stressed, trials like this help to validate the SoP and train both the aircraft crew and the recovery personnel providing valuable inputs for the utilisation of recovery accessories. 

Meanwhile, ISRO is also focusing to enable booster stage recovery in future launch vehicle configurations.