The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday successfully conducted a key qualification test of the main parachute system for the Gaganyaan crew module, marking another milestone in India’s first human spaceflight mission.The test was carried out at the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) drop zone in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh, to validate the parachute system designed for the crew module’s safe descent and landing.“The objective of this test was to qualify the main parachute for its structural integrity and design margins under the maximum expected load conditions in the first uncrewed Gaganyaan G1 mission,” Isro said in a statement. During the test, a simulated assembly comprising a single main parachute and a dummy payload was dropped from an altitude of 2.5 km from an Indian Air Force IL-76 aircraft.Following the release, a drogue parachute was deployed to stabilise the assembly and significantly reduce its descent speed.The main parachute was then deployed, bringing the payload down to a safe terminal velocity for landing. “This is the 5th test in a series of integrated main parachute airdrop tests (IMAT) to qualify the critical main parachute for the Gaganyaan Mission. The successful completion of IMAT-05 provides necessary confidence in the performance and reliability of the Main Parachute System for the first Uncrewed Gaganyaan Mission (G1),” Isro said. The Gaganyaan crew module is equipped with a parachute system comprising 10 parachutes of four different types, each designed to perform a specific function during the module’s descent.The system includes two apex cover separation parachutes, which jettison the protective apex cover shielding the parachute compartment from the intense heat generated during atmospheric re-entry.It also features two drogue parachutes to stabilise and slow the descending module, along with three pilot parachutes that independently extract and deploy the three main parachutes for the final stage of descent.
