Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO will launch the first test flight on October 21, safety of astronauts will be ensured

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on Monday that it will launch a test flight on October 21 under the Gaganyaan mission. The inflight abort test of the crew escape system will be conducted with the test vehicle abort mission-1 (TV-D1).

Its objective is to ensure the safety of astronauts during the Gaganyaan mission. The module will be taken into space during testing. With this, it will be brought back to Earth and landed in the Bay of Bengal. Under the Gaganyaan mission, a crew of three astronauts will be taken to an orbit of 400 km. After this, India will demonstrate human spaceflight capability by bringing them back safely to Earth.

TV-D1 test flight is scheduled on October 21, 2023, between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota. Earlier on Saturday, ISRO chief Somnath had said, after the first test flight, we have planned three more test missions, D2, D3, and D4.

ISRO chief S. Somnath said that chess grandmaster R. Praggnananda will work with ISRO to promote science and technology among the youth. We are proud that we have a Pragyan on the moon and a Praggnanand on the ground, he said after meeting young chess player Praggnanand at his residence.

What we have done for India on the Moon, they have done on Earth. I am happy that Praggnanand will join us in making India a proud and powerful nation and will encourage the youth to take up science, engineering, and technology subjects in the curriculum.