Exclusive: ISRO, IAF, Navy to conduct Gaganyaan test on Sunday, 24th August

If weather permits and several other technical parameters align, the Indian space agency ISRO, the Indian Air Force (IAF), and the Indian Navy (IN) will be conducting a crucial Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight-related test on Sunday, 24th August, WION has learnt. If all goes well, the test will be conducted around sunrise hour, in the Bay of Bengal, off Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, where India’s spaceport is located.

The rehearsals for this test have been going on through this month. On a few occasions this week, the tests were postponed owing to unfavourable weather conditions, as there was a storm brewing off the North Andhra Pradesh-South Odisha coasts.

Known as the Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT), the process involves an IAF Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter that will carry an underslung load of 4,000-4500 kg (the Gaganyan astronaut-carrying capsule), lift it to an altitude of about 4,000 metres (4 km), and then drop it into the sea. As the capsule descends rapidly, it is meant to sequentially deploy a series of parachutes and slow itself down for a safe splashdown landing.

Such a safe splashdown landing using a series of parachutes is the crucial final step when an astronaut-carrying capsule returns from space. During this test, an empty capsule with a mass of about 4,000-4,500 kg is to be used, to simulate the real mass of the Gaganyaan astronaut-carrying capsule.

Once the capsule safely splashes down, Indian Navy’s vessels that are pre-positioned in the region would deploy their smaller boats to approach the capsule, inspect it, and connect the capsule to a shipborne crane. Thereafter, the capsule would be lifted up by the massive shipborne crane and safely placed on the ship’s deck. It is learnt that Indian Naval Ship Anvesh would play a crucial role in the seaborne operations.

This operation will be closely monitored from air and sea by a range of assets belonging to ISRO, Navy, and IAF. Parachutes for this test have been developed by India’s Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). Being a national mission, Gaganyaan requires multi-agency synergy and coordination.

IADT is one among thousands of tests related to Gaganyaan

In the process of accomplishing the Gaganyaan Human spaceflight mission, ISRO and its partner agencies must conduct thousands of tests spanning various technical domains—electrical, mechanical, chemical, software, materials, navigation, guidance, automation, etc.

While thousands of tests have been completed, several thousand still remain, and new technologies are being tested and validated. However, most of the testing happens behind closed doors, and it is only the rare ones like IADT and other rocketry-related tests that happen out in the open and with the involvement of military assets.

As for the high-profile tests that happen in the open, ISRO has to accomplish more Integrated Air Drop Tests, more Test Vehicle launches (mid-flight abort and ejection), Pad Abort Tests (ejecting, saving crew capsule from a rocket explosion at launchpad), and multiple unmanned flights of the whole Gaganyaan rocket and spacecraft, using a robot instead of astronaut.

Only when all these tests go flawlessly can ISRO put astronauts on its rocket and fly them to space. While it is officially maintained that Gaganyaan launch could happen in 2027, going by the track record so far and the immense complexities involved, a more realistic timeline suggests that the Gaganyaan astronaut mission could happen closer to 2030.