ISRO, last week, successfully completed mock rescue operations for the Gaganyaan mission in collaboration with the Indian Navy. The agency said that the recovery trials were carried out on December 6 off the coast of Vishakhapatnam using a well deck ship that can be flooded with water so that boats, landing crafts and recovered spacecrafts can be taken inside to dock.
Indian Navy and ISRO carried out Well-deck recovery trials of Crew Module for Gaganyaan mission on December 06, 2024. The trials were carried out at Eastern Naval Command using welldeck ship off the coast of Vishakhapatnam.
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— ISRO (@isro) December 10, 2024
The trials were to prepare the recovery team to secure the crew module as soon as it splashes down in the sea at the end of the mission.
The crew module used for the trials was a mock-up of the Gaganyaan spacecraft that will take three astronauts to the low-Earth orbit later this decade. Once getting a hold of the spacecraft, the recovery team towed it into the ship.
“This trial validated the overall sequence of operations, ground fixtures and will help in fine tuning Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). This trial is part of the series of recovery trials being carried out by Indian Navy and ISRO to finalise the SOPs for recovery operations for nominal as well as off-nominal conditions,” ISRO said in a statement released on December 10.
Earlier in November, ISRO announced that the crewed Gaganyaan mission has been pushed to 2026 as the teams need more work to ensure safety of the astronauts.
IAF’s Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan and Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubanshu Shukla have been chosen for the mission and they will spend three days in space inside the spacecraft.
ALSO SEE: ISRO Collaborates With Australian Space Agency To Recover Gaganyaan Crew Capsule
ALSO SEE: Why Has ISRO Delayed Gaganyaan Astronaut Mission To 2026?
(Image: ISRO)
