Rajarajan also discussed the infrastructure requirements for the mission

Rajarajan, Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), in an exclusive interview with India Today, talked about the development underway with the Gaganyaan mission. The current heavy-weight LVM-3 launch vehicle will be modified. All systems will be developed with a high safety margin. The crew module is designed to splash down in the sea

Chennai: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for its next major project, the Gaganyaan mission, following the successful completion of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission and the launch of India's first solar mission, Aditya-L1.

The current heavy-weight LVM-3 launch vehicle will be modified to become a Human-Rated Launch Vehicle (HRLV), capable of carrying a crew module and Indian astronauts to space in the future.

Rajarajan, Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), explained in an exclusive interview with IndiaToday that the primary role of the HRLV will be to transport the crew module and orbital module into space, placing them in a 400 km circular orbit.

“LVM-3 will be called HRLV as we are human rating the vehicle. All the systems will be developed with the most margin of safety against failure. Along with this, we will have to make sure that the crew escape system should take away the crew module to a safe distance in case of any anomaly in any stages,” Rajarajan said.

He emphasised that all systems will be developed with a high safety margin against failure, and a crew escape system will be implemented to ensure the crew module can be safely ejected away from the launch vehicle in case of any anomalies.

In the event of an emergency, the crew module is designed to splash down in the sea.

ISRO is currently conducting various tests, including drop tests of the crew module, high altitude drop tests, and pad avoid tests where the crew escape system will eject and transport the astronauts to a safe distance.

Gaganyaan Mission

L-40 stage of GSLV MK-II launch vehicle

“We also have a test vehicle project where an L-40 engine, a GSLV booster, will be assembled with the Crew Module on top, and will be fired. At a particular speed of 1.1 Mach, at 10 kilometers altitude, we will initiate ejection and see how it gets aborted and brings back the crew safely. After checking all this we will go ahead with our GX and G1 missions”, stated the director.

Rajarajan also discussed the infrastructure requirements for the mission, stating that a separate facility is being established for the preparation of the orbital module, which includes the crew module, the service module, and the crew escape system.

This Orbital Module Preparation Facility will be responsible for checking and assembling all systems.

Additionally, an extra clean room is being installed in the assembly area to make the systems more robust, and a separate launch termination room is being created. All these facilities will be connected to the Gaganyaan Control Facility, which will monitor the health of the vehicle, the crew module, and the astronauts.

“All this will come to the Gaganyan Control Facility where we will monitor the health of the vehicle, crew module, and the Gaganauts. We are refurbishing an old First Launch Vehicle facility called LCC," stated Director Rajarajan.

The Environmental Control System inside the Crew Module will maintain a temperature between 25 to 27 degrees Celsius, manage water perspiration, remove exhaled carbon dioxide, and maintain the oxygen and nitrogen ratio.

The astronauts' suits will also be equipped to supply oxygen in emergencies, remain pressurized, facilitate communication with ground crew, and provide thermal insulation.

ISRO is expected to begin testing using the L-40 engine in October.