Impressive rocket tests from India. There is no space for jokes
India conducted a rocket test involving a crew module. The spaceship, set to carry the first Indian astronauts into space, separated from its carrier at a height of several miles.
Oct 21, 2023 | updated: 4:51 AM EDT, October 23, 2023
India is becoming a significant space power. They have spectacularly overtaken Russia in the conquest of the southern part of the Moon, and the first Indian solar probe is not the end. ISRO is well on its way to manned missions.
Hindu manned missions
The Indian Space Agency plans to build its own space station by 2035, and by 2040, send astronauts to the Moon. This requires a spaceship capable of handling manned missions. It turns out that India may construct it and launch into orbit as early as next year.
The evacuation system developed for this purpose is efficient. During the test, the Indian crew capsule separated from the rocket in a planned manner and returned to Earth without damage.
Indian rocket evacuation system test
The launch took place on the southeast coasts of India, on Sriharikota Island. This is where the Satish Dhawan Space Center is located.
Test flight from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota
The test crew module detached from Earth atop a single-stage rocket. It's not capable for an orbital mission and in the future, Indians need to replace it with something more powerful. They have the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 in reserve, but its liquid fuel understudy proved sufficient for the test purpose.
ISRO anticipated that the module would glide to a height of approximately 7.5 miles and begin the separation maneuver. The escape engines were launched without obstacles, and the spacecraft proceeded to land at an altitude of approximately 10.5 miles above the Earth.
The parachutes opened as expected, and the ship returned almost to the launch site. It was recovered from the sea about 6 miles off the coast of Sriharota Island.
