NATIONAL: The Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, has started preparing for the flight test Vehicle Abort Mission 1(TV-D1) for the Gaganyaan mission.

Posting on social media, the Space Agency said that the unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission will commence soon. ISRO will also test the efficacy of the Crew Escape System, which is a crucial part of the Gaganyaan mission, resulting in unmanned, and manned missions to outer space by 2024.

The test is to be conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Crew Module will carry the astronauts during the Gaganyaan mission to outer space.

The test involves launching a crew module to outer space, bringing it back to Earth and recovering it after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal. Indian Navy personnel have already started mock operations to recover the module. The success of this test will set the stage for the first unmanned Gaganyaan mission and ultimately manned mission to outer space in low Earth orbit.

The Crew Module with three astronauts will be placed in a circular orbit of about 400 km around the Earth for three days and brought back safely to Earth. Four chosen astronauts are undergoing crew training at the Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru. The heavy lift launcher HLVM3 rocket will be used for the Gaganyaan mission.