Gaganyaan Initiative: ISRO Transports Initial Solid Motor Component to Launch Facility
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New Delhi, Dec 13 (NationPress) In a pivotal advancement for the Gaganyaan—India’s inaugural human spaceflight initiative—the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday announced that the initial solid motor component has been transferred to the launch facility.
This marks a crucial step towards the anticipated launch of the first human flight, scheduled for 2026, as the motor component has been transported from the production facility.
"A pivotal advancement for the Gaganyaan Programme! The initial solid motor component has been moved from the production facility to the launch site, marking a key step towards the HLVM3 G1 flight. India’s human spaceflight aspirations are taking form!" ISRO stated in a post on the social media platform X.
Earlier this week, the Indian Navy and ISRO also conducted a practice recovery for the Gaganyaan astronaut capsule in the sea.
The experts executed the “Well Deck” recovery trials off the coast of Vishakhapatnam. The Well-deck on a ship can be flooded with water to allow boats, landing crafts, and recovered spacecraft to be brought inside for docking, the agency explained.
"This trial is part of a series of recovery exercises being conducted by the Indian Navy and ISRO to finalize the SOPs for recovery operations under both normal and off-nominal circumstances," ISRO noted.
The Gaganyaan mission, spearheaded by ISRO, aims to showcase India’s ability to undertake crewed space missions.
The Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3) is set to play a crucial role in transporting astronauts into low Earth orbit.
The Gaganyaan spacecraft is designed to accommodate up to three astronauts and orbit the Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometers.
Meanwhile, ISRO successfully carried out the sea-level hot test of the CE20 Cryogenic Engine.
The CE20 engine powers the upper stage of ISRO’s LVM3 launch vehicle, which has been instrumental in missions such as Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3. It has also been certified for the forthcoming Gaganyaan human spaceflight project.
