ISRO's Gaganyaan project envisages the demonstration of indigenously-designed and developed human spaceflight capability. It will be done by launching a crew of three Indian astronauts to an earth orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and then bringing them back safely to earth, by splash-landing in Indian sea waters.


As part of the ongoing testing process for the Gaganyaan Human spaceflight mission, the Indian space agency is to take possession of crucial flight hardware. Known as the Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-CM) Crew Module structure, this is the shell within which the Indian astronauts would be safely nestled in during their rocket-powered journey to space, their stay in orbit, and back. The first of two such aluminum-alloy structures, made by Chennai-based firm KCP Limited, is to be handed over to the Indian space agency, on Saturday (Oct 7).

According to the firm, this crew module structure weighs 3.1 tonnes, measures 3.1 metre in diameter, stands 2.6 metre tall, and is made using a light alloy of aluminium and 15CDV6 steel.