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ISRO’s Crucial Test Nears for Human Spaceflight

Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are underway

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for the first Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) to demonstrate the crew escape system as part of its human space mission called Gaganyaan.

According to the space agency, it will commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission.

“Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are underway,” ISRO said.

The first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) is in the final stages of preparation.

The Test Vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission.

“The payloads consist of the Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters,” ISRO said.

This flight will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission.

ISRO said the Crew Escape System with Crew Module will be separated from the Test Vehicle at an altitude of about 17 km.

“Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES (Crew Escape System) and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of CM (Crew Module) in the sea, about 10 km from the coast of Sriharikota,” ISRO said.

The Crew Module will house the astronauts in a pressurised earthlike atmospheric condition during the Gaganyaan mission.

It is in different stages of development.

For the TV-D1, the Crew Module is an unpressurised version that has completed its integration and testing and is ready to be shipped to the launch complex.

This unpressurised Crew Module version has to have an overall size and mass of actual Gaganyaan Crew Module and would house all the systems for the deceleration and recovery.

With its complete set of parachutes, recovery aids, actuation systems and pyros.

The avionics systems in Crew Module are in a dual redundant mode configuration for navigation, sequencing, telemetry, instrumentation and power.

According to ISRO, the Crew Module in this mission is extensively instrumented to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various systems.

It will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy.

The space agency said the Crew Module after integration underwent various electrical testing, at ISRO’s facility in Bengaluru, including an acoustic test and was dispatched to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on August 13.

At Sriharikota, it will undergo vibration tests and pre-integration with the Crew Escape System, before final integration to the Test Vehicle at the Launch Pad.

This Test Vehicle mission with this Crew Module is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan programme as a near-complete system is integrated for a flight test.

The success of this test flight will set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions, leading to the first Gaganyaan mission with Indian astronauts, ISRO said.

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US and UK to launch new era of spaceflight

This comes as the UK prepares to make its first-ever launch from home soil, and Europe, later this year from Spaceport Cornwall…reports Asian Lite News

Future spaceflight will be made easier and cheaper, following a landmark partnership with the United States to help cut red tape and boost opportunities in the UK, signed by the Transport Secretary this week in Washington.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg signed a declaration on 11 May 2022 to work together on future commercial spaceflight missions, in the iconic Smithsonian Institution.

The partnership will help launch cheaper, quicker and more streamlined spaceflight operations through close collaboration between the 2 countries on licensing of commercial space launches.

The move will cut down red tape and the regulatory burden to operators resulting in greater efficiencies and a reduction in costs, resources and duplication while maintaining stringent safety standards.

The new declaration sends a clear signal to countries across the globe that the UK aims to be a European hub of space activity and lays the foundation for rockets, high-altitude balloons and spaceplanes to lift off from spaceports across the UK very soon.

This comes as the UK prepares to make its first-ever launch from home soil, and Europe, later this year from Spaceport Cornwall.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said, “This transformational partnership is one giant leap for both countries as we prepare for an exciting new era of spaceflight to lift off.

With 7 spaceports being developed across the UK, the space industry is already injecting billions into our economy while offering high-skilled jobs.

As we look beyond the UK’s first planned spaceflight later this year, I look forward to seeing the innovations and opportunities skyrocket thanks to this collaboration.

Offering launch capability will provide UK companies, as well as those from around the world, with direct access to the space environment while generating high-skilled jobs up and down the country and levelling up some of the most remote communities.

This will reduce the UK’s reliance on other launch countries to put British-built and operated satellites into space, which provide benefits to all – from critical defence security and better weather forecasts to enabling our television services and more efficient transport.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “Commercial space travel is growing swiftly and it’s our responsibility to ensure that these innovations advance safely, encouraging them to develop in ways that benefit us all. We’re proud to launch this partnership with the United Kingdom to bring more of the benefits of commercial space travel to our workers, businesses, and communities. This move will not only help make processes to host US spaceflight operators here in the UK more straightforward and efficient, but will streamline the steps for UK space organisations wishing to operate in the US.”

It will significantly boost opportunities for both UK and US companies to operate from respective spaceports, introducing new customers and revenues to each country.

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