Gaganyaan: ISRO, Navy perform sea trials to safely recover astronauts
What's the story
In a major step toward India's first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian Navy have successfully completed 'well deck' recovery trials.
The Eastern Naval Command conducted the trials using a well deck ship off Visakhapatnam's coast.
This technique is vital for the safe recovery of astronauts after their three-day mission around Earth's orbit.
Trial details
Recovery trials aim for quick, comfortable astronaut retrieval
ISRO stressed on the need for quick and comfortable recovery of the crew after the Crew Module (CM) lands in the sea following the mission.
A well deck, a ship compartment that can be flooded to let boats or spacecraft dock, is seen as an ideal option for module recovery.
It involves towing the module with the crew inside into the ship's well deck, allowing them to exit CM safely.
Process
Trials used mass and shape-simulated CM mock-up
The trials used a mass and shape-simulated CM mock-up and involved steps such as attaching a recovery buoy, towing the module, placing it inside the ship's well deck, and draining the compartment.
These processes gave the teams a clear understanding of their roles and validated the sequence of operations, ground fixtures, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Recovery plan
Trials part of series to finalize recovery procedures
The trials are part of a series to finalize procedures for standard and off-nominal recovery scenarios.
Back in May last year, ISRO and the Indian Navy had unveiled the Gaganyaan recovery training plan at the Water Survival Training Facility (WSTF) at INS Garuda, Kochi.
The document details the training plan for recovering Gaganyaan's crew module and specifies overall requirements for training different teams involved in recovery operations.
Training stages
Recovery training planned in incremental phases
The recovery training will be done in incremental phases, from unmanned to manned recovery training in harbor and open sea conditions.
The Indian Navy is spearheading these operations in coordination with other government agencies.
The December 6 trials were part of the Navy's contribution to assist ISRO through a series of trials to fine-tune the SOPs for training Gaganyaan's crew and recovery teams.