Isro Successfully Tests Solid Motor for Gaganyaan Test Vehicle

Photo credit: ANI

BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has successfully completed the first ground test of the solid motor that will power a new sub-orbital test vehicle designed to support the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. The test, conducted on July 3 at the Static Test Facility at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, validated the performance of the solid motor for the proposed Sub-Orbital Launch Vehicle for Experiments (SOLVE). According to Isro, the motor performed as expected during the trial.

As per Isro, SOLVE is being developed as a dedicated platform to carry out integrated parachute tests for the Gaganyaan crew module. The vehicle will loft the crew module to an altitude of between 10km and 17km before separating it in flight. A sequence of 10 parachutes will then deploy to slow the module’s descent before it splashes down in the sea. The tests are aimed at validating the crew module's deceleration system under different flight conditions before India’s first crewed space mission.

The solid stage of the SOLVE vehicle is based on the strap-on motor used in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), but has been modified to meet Gaganyaan’s requirements. The changes include a slow burn-rate propellant, a straight nozzle and a secondary injection thrust vector control system to steer the vehicle during flight.

Isro said the development of the SOLVE vehicle would provide greater flexibility in conducting Gaganyaan test missions by allowing engineers to simulate a range of conditions expected during an actual crewed mission. The successful ground firing marks another step in preparations for Gaganyaan, under which Isro plans to send Indian astronauts into low-Earth orbit aboard an indigenous spacecraft before safely returning them to Earth. The parachute system is one of the mission's critical safety elements, ensuring the crew module can make a controlled splashdown after re-entering the atmosphere.